Stay Puft
by Winter's Light Blossom
Summary: Hope returns to New York and soon becomes mixed up in some paranormal buisiness when she joins her brother's whacky group of friends. Along the way she feels things she's never before felt and finds something she wasn't expecting to find; love. Egon/OFC
1. Chapter 1: Welcome Back

Alright, so you wanted me to rewrite 'Stay Puft' my first G.B. story. Well, here is the new first chapter. I hope you all like it!

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

"Excuse me?" A young woman with golden hair, dressed in black dress pants and a v-necked brown sweater asked as she leaned against the counter of the library. The man she had spoken to turned to her, his eyes asking her what she wanted, "I reserved a book a little while ago."

"Oh, you're name?"

"It should be under Hope Thurman." She replied as the man went into the back room where books in holding were. Hope tapped her nails on the counter as she looked around the library, "Some things never change."

She sighed as she shook her head. It may have been over four years since she had been back in the city, but the library seemed to be the only thing that hadn't changed in the years apart from her childhood house that now belonged to her brother.

Her brother...that was one of the only things that had kept her from wanting to leave the city. He may be older then her, but he was childish, gullible, and trusting of people. Three things that Hope knew a person shouldn't be this day in age because more times then not it would steer you in the wrong direction.

"Here you are Miss." Hope turned back to the book that the man placed on the counter. She took it and thanked him before walking away to a table she had set her things down at.

"Got it. Now let me see that paper McNamara wrote." Hope took the paper from the woman that sat at the table with her. She looked at the paper and then began to flip through the book of Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations, "What he described seems to be a pot of sorts."

"Uh-huh." Was the respond the woman beside her gave, "Who's that?"

"Who's who, Laura?" Hope asked as she looked up from the book and the brunette beside her. Laura didn't answer. She only took the pen she had been chewing on from her mouth and pointed across the library at someone. Hope looked to where she was pointing and couldn't help but give a small laugh.

The man Laura pointed to was walking around the library slowly in a sweater and suit pants which were hidden somewhat beneath the long gray trench coat he wore on top. He was tall, had dark brown hair, and wore glasses. On his head was some sort of stethoscope that was connected to the end he was holding by a tube. It seemed as though he was listening for something and, as he wasn't paying attention to anyone else in the room, hit a table full of stacked books, knocking them to the floor with a series of loud bangs.

"I have no idea." Hope responded to Laura's earlier question as she stood from the table, "But I'm going to go find out."

"Where're you going? Hey...!" Laura called after Hope, who had walked away from the table and up to the man picking up the books. He didn't look at her as she approached or even when she stood there a minute. He looked at her when she bent down beside him and swiped a book away as he was about to take it.

"Thought you could use some help." Hope smiled at him as she picked up another book, stacking it onto the other three she had acquired.

"Thank you." He responded as he watched her a moment and then began picking up the rest of the books before him. Hope stood from the ground with her stack and set them on the table, sighing happily to herself. The man stood beside her and placed his stack beside hers.

"I'm Hope Thurman." She announced and outstretched her hand to him.

"Dr. Egon Spengler." He took her hand for a second and then turned from her, placing the funny looking stethoscope back on his head. Hope looked back at Laura.

"What's going on?" Laura mouthed to Hope, who only shrugged back. Hope followed Egon to his next 'subject', watching what he did.

"Doctor of what, may I ask?" Hope inquired curiously as she walked behind him and up to his side when he stopped beside another table.

"Parapsychology and physics." He answered laconically as he placed the end of the stethoscope to the top of a book that sat on the table.

"That's funny." Hope gave a small laugh, not at him, but at the coincidence that her brother was also a doctor in parapsychology and physics, "My brother has degrees in the same subjects."

Egon stared at her for a moment and then walked to another table. Hope watched him and then followed, curious about this Dr. Spengler character and slightly attracted to him. She had a thing for the silent bookworms since she was so outgoing and open-minded.

"So you study the paranormal right?" She asked, sitting on the table as he 'listened' to the table top, "Like ghosts and things?"

"I don't like the term 'ghost'." Egon responded and took the stethoscope from his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out what looked to be like a calculator.

"Oh, um..." Hope thought for a moment about what else to call a ghost, "...entity?"

"Yes." He answered and picked up the stethoscope once more, "In a sense. I also do paranormal detection."

"So, are you looking for entities here?" Hope followed him to his next table where he sat beneath it, scope to the bottom of the table top.

"There was a sighting earlier." Egon didn't bother to look at Hope as he continued with moving his scope along the bottom of the table top.

"Wait, there was a sighting here?" Hope asked as she pointed to the floor, slightly disturbed by the information.

"Yes, in the basement." Hope couldn't think of what to say to his response so she kept her mouth shut. She looked back at Laura, her eyes slightly wide in an 'oh my god...' expression.

Hope wasn't a _believer_ of ghosts, entities, or the whole paranormal and other side thing. Oh she believe in Heaven and spirits, but just not that they came to visit the living or anything like that. Whether her disbelief came from the worry of her parents coming back and visiting or just the idea of having someone or something see-through stand before her, she didn't know.

BANG!

Hope jumped off the table and spun around, heart beating rapidly in her chest as her hand lay over it. She stared down at the book that had been slammed onto the table and then at the two men that had joined Egon.

"This is big. There's something definitely here." Egon responded to something one of the other men had said.

"Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head." One of the men countered with a sarcastic laugh in his voice.

"You tried to drill a hole through your head?" Hope asked suddenly, earning the attention from the three men.

"That would have worked if he hadn't stopped me." Egon shot back at her, completely convinced of the success rate he would have had with the experiment. Hope shook her head, thinking about what she had gotten into by trying to talk to the guy she had thought was 'adorable in a nerdy way'.

"Ray?" Hope asked suddenly, recognizing the man to Egon's right. The three men looked at her and for a moment Ray didn't know who it was that had spoken to him. Realization suddenly set in on him as his confused expression turned to surprise.

"...Hope?" He asked carefully, not knowing whether or not it was her. She didn't look the same, she knew that. Her hair was brighter from all the sun she had been in and her skin wasn't as ghostly pale as before. She was also thinner from the lack of foods she would actually eat while she was away..

"Yeah." Hope nodded her head as a smile graced her lips, looking over the man. His hair was shaggier then she remembered and he wore more respectable clothing, but that enthusiastic expression she recognized. They quickly shared a hug and looked each other over again, "Gosh, look at you."

"Me, what about you?" Ray indicated towards her, eyes lit with happiness, "Your not pale anymore and your hair is lighter. You've also lost weight."

"Not exactly what a girl wants to hear Ray." Hope gave a small scoff and tightened her jaw.

"No, I...I just meant you look different. That's all!" Ray tried to correct himself. Hope laughed and smiled again, knowing what he had meant all along.

"You've changed too. You haven't gone hungry though. So, that's a good thing." Hope laughed as Ray took his turn to scoff. Egon exchanged a look with the other man beside him, both wondering the same thing.

"Alright, time to explain Ray." The man on Egon's left spoke up, looking from Hope to Ray.

"Uh, well," Ray began and looked over at Hope, unsure of how to explain, "She's...she's uh...she's my..."

"Spit it out Ray." The man huffed, earning a look from Hope.

"Who the hell are you?" She snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest. Hope already wasn't liking whoever this man was and stared him down with only a look a girl could give. The man looked at Egon and then at Ray before looking back at her.

"I'm Dr. Venkman, but you can call me Peter." Peter debonairly returned, outstretching his hand to her. Hope narrowed her eyes at the gesture and then took is apprehensively.

"Dr. Hope Thurman." She replied, shaking his hand and tugged on it when he wouldn't let go.

"Wait, Thurman as in...?" Peter began and looked over at Ray, a question in his eyes. Hope tore her hand from Peter's, wiping whatever germs she had gotten from him off on her sweater. When Ray didn't answer Peter he looked over at Hope, "So you two are..."

"Yeah, we are." Hope answered quickly, recrossing her arms over her chest.

"I feel as though I'm missing something vital." Egon spoke up, looking around at them all awkwardly. Hope looked at him about to answer before she was beat to it.

"You mean you don't know, egghead?" Peter asked, sarcastically pretending to be surprised, "They're related."

"She's my sister." Ray clarified when Egon seemed to not grasp how they were related, though anyone else would have been in the same boat. The two didn't look that much alike apart from similar facial structures, but how many people can notice that?

"Excuse me! Are you the people from the university?" The owner of the library approached them all before anyone else could say something. They all looked at him.

"Yes, we are. Well, except for Hope here." Ray nodded his head towards Hope, hands moving to the camcorder around his neck. Hope looked at him and shook her head.

"I'm Roger Grimsby. Thank you for coming. I hope we can clear this up quickly and..._quietly_." He started as he led them all toward the front desk, Hope trailing behind them.

"Let's not rush things. We don't even know what you have yet." Peter spoke and walked passed them all. Hope took hold of Ray's jacket and pulled him off to the side.

"I'm going to be over there." Hope indicated to where Laura sat, looking through the book Hope had brought over some time ago, "When can you and I catch up?"

"Okay, um, well you could come by the university today or tomorrow if you wanted." Ray responded, liking the idea of catching up on lost time between them.

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then. We'll get lunch or something." She smiled and gave him a tight hug before walking back to her seat. She sat down beside Laura and looked back to where Ray and the other two had gone into the back room.

"Who was that cute one with the camcorder that you pulled to the side?" Laura asked as she looked up from the book.

"My brother." Hope closed her eyes tightly and gave a laugh, facing forward in her chair and taking the book back.


	2. Chapter 2: Let's Agree To Disagree

Hope you guys liked the first chapter and this one as well. Like I said on the older version of this story, I'm keeping the old one up for now incase people are too impatient to wait for me to finish this version and want to get to the sequel. Thank you guys! Enjoy!

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

Hope walked up the stone steps of Columbia University's Paranormal Studies building and through the front doors, passing students and teachers alike. She nodded her head with a smile gracing her lips at the way the main hall was decorated. Seems Ray was doing better then I thought- Hope thunk as she walked up to the desk sitting in the middle of the large room.

"Hello, I'm here to see Dr. Raymond Stantz." Hope announced as she leaned on the tall counter where a woman in a dress suit sat.

"Dr. Stantz is no longer employed here." The woman replied as she searched through several papers littering the place before her.

"I'm sorry?" Hope asked, not believing she had heard right and stood up straighter. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember the names of the other two Ray had been with at the Library, "What about, uh...Spellinger or Vickman?

"Dr. Stantz was fired yesterday by Dean Yeager." The woman stopped what she was doing and looked up at her, boredom in her expression, "Along with Dr. _Venkman_ and Dr. _Spengler_."

"Do you know where any of them are now?"

"Does it look like I would know?" The woman gave Hope a look and then resumed looking through the papers. Once she found what it was she wanted she stood from her seat and walked away, leaving a very confused Hope.

"Okay then..." Hope whispered to herself as she walked back out of the building and down the steps. She stood by the street and hailed a taxi, heading back home.

"'Ey Hope! One of your quickest trips yet, huh!?" A man Hope knew to be called Frank Fiorini, called to her with a bright smile from the front desk of the apartment building.

"Yeah, I just love this city so much and all its wonderful people." She laughed as she walked to the elevators and walked in, pushing the number of her floor.

She walked into her apartment and took off her jacket, placing on a hanger inside the closet. She noticed the familiar blinking red light on the answering machine and walked to it, beginning to remove the scarf she had on.

_"You have two new messages."_ The machine called out as Hope walked into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator, _"Tuesday, ten-thirty four a.m."_

_Beep..._

_"Hi, Dr. Thurman, this is Richard Jackson from Manhattan City Bank. I was reviewing your records today and saw that you had taken a third mortgage out on your parents home at nineteen percent interest._"

Hope stopped cutting the carrots she had pulled out from the refrigerator and stared at the cupboard in front of her face. Slowly, she walked from the kitchen to stare down at the answering machine, knife still in hand and clenching it tightly.

_"Dr. Thurman if you were having trouble paying the increments I would have gladly worked with you to create a new plan that would work for yours and the banks best interests. Since it hasn't reached its twenty-eight day recount period you have time to call me and we can work something a little bit better out. Thank you for your time. I'll be waiting to hear from you."_

_Beep..._

_"Tuesday, eleven-o-two a.m."_

_"Hope? You there? It's me Ray. I just wanted to call and say that I won't be at the university today. Well, ever. I was fired yesterday."_

Hope moved closer to the machine, expression blank and eyes hard. She laid her hands down on either side of the machine, knife still in the one.

_"Me and the guys are going to be down at the old firehouse on West 3__rd__ Ave. Come by. I've got something important to tell you."_

_Beep..._

_"No more messages."_

Hope stared at the machine a moment longer and then placed the knife on the table it sat on. She turned on her heels and ripped her coat from the closet, walking out the front door.

"Leavin' already? I thought you was back for good!" Frank called after Hope as she walked into the main hall of the apartment building again.

"Unfortunately, I think I'm going to be on the run for murdering my brother." She called back as she walked passed him and outside to the sidewalk. She hailed a taxi for the third time that day and headed to West 3rd Avenue.

She climbed out of the taxi, having it in her mind that she wasn't going to give Ray the time to explain since she would be strangling him and it was awfully hard to talk when that's happening. She walked through the old front door and into the dirty building. She spotted a set of stairs and carefully, not wanting to hit a loose board, descended them into where the firetrucks had once been held.

"Oh my God..." She whispered to herself as she stepped onto the floor. She looked around the room, disgusted by it. Boards, boxes, and crates sat everywhere covered in dust and just filthy from top to bottom. The firehouse looked like it had been in a fire itself and as Hope walked further she cursed ever returning to the city.

"Oh, this explanation ought to be good." Hope laughed sarcastically to herself and then scoffed, walking around the stairs and through another door that connected to another room.

"What do you think Egon?" Hope recognized the voice, knowing it belonged to the cocky, smooth talking Dr. Venkman she had met the day before. Hope walked back through the door and spotted Dr. Spengler and Venkman with a woman in a suit standing in the middle of the garage.

"Peter, I think this place should be condemned." Egon replied, walking around a little bit and looking at the faults the building held. He and Peter stopped beside the fire pole leading from the room above to the garage, "There's serious metal fatigue, the wires are substandard, it's completely insufficient for our power needs and the neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone."

"So...what do you think?" Peter pushed for an actually yes or no as the woman, who Hope realized was a real-estate agent, became a little aggravated.

"He thinks you all have a lot of explaining to do!" Hope called out and stormed over to them, "I got a message from my banker that there was a third mortgage taken out on our parents house at a nineteen percent interest and then a message from Ray saying he has something important to tell me and to meet you morons here. What the hell is going on and where the hell **is** Ray!?"

Egon and Peter exchanged a glance, neither knowing what to say to the furious woman, who stood before them, hands on her hips.

"Well, Princess he's around here somewhere having a field day is my guess." Peter spoke up, shoving his hands into his pant pockets, "Egon?"

Hope shook her head and looked at Egon, her eyes narrowed and waiting for his answer.

"Where is he?" Hope asked more sternly, crossing her arms over her chest. Egon looked to Peter for help and then shook his head slowly. Hope nodded her head quickly and turned her back to them.

"RAYMOND FRANCIS STANTZ!" She screamed out and then waited a moment, "YOU GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

Nothing happened and Hope turned back to the two men and the woman, who had tried to slink away. Hope was about to yell again when something beat her to it.

"Hey! Does this pole still work!?" Ray's voice rang out through the building as he suddenly slid to the ground from the ceiling using the fire pole. He looked back up at the ceiling and then over at them all, "Wow! This place is great! When can we move in!? You gotta try this pole! I'm gonna get my stuff!"

Ray ran to the set of stairs Hope had come down, clearly not seeing her in his excitement and stopped to look back at them all.

"Hey, we should stay here, tonight. You know. Sleep here to try it out." Ray rationalized as he continued up the stairs. Hope looked from where Ray had gone and to Egon and Peter, jaw tight and eyes hard.

"I think we'll take it." Peter announced as he looked away from Hope to the woman who she stood beside.

"Good." The real-estate agent answered and began walking away to sign papers with Peter. Hope watched them go and then looked back at Egon, who looked around the room at the mess and work that needed to be done.

"This is what the third mortgage was for? To buy an old fire house?" Hope asked, unbelievingly to Egon. She shook her head slowly, mouth agape, and trying to wrap her head around the idea.

"It was Peter's idea." Egon answered simply, taking a quick look at her for a moment before looking back at the wires that ran along the wall.

"So, what are you guys going to do with this place? Turn it into an all you can eat buffet?" Hope scoffed and followed him to his next stop in expecting the room, "How are you even going to payback what you owe the bank? You don't work for the university anymore."

"How did you know that?" Egon stood up from looking at an old socket in the wall.

"They told me when I went looking for Ray." Hope answered honestly as she took a deep breath, calming herself down, "You guys had better know what you're doing because if you can't pay the bills, I can't help. I don't make enough to pick up the slack here and pay my own bills at the same time. I just can't."

Hope closed her eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling stressed out all over again. Egon didn't need to hear all of that. She didn't even know him so who was she to say that he wouldn't keep up with his end of the bills? Now, Ray on the other hand needed to be told that.

"We weren't ever expecting you to." Egon answered, seriousness in his voice. Hope didn't know why, but that made her feel a lot better. Maybe more then it should, but for the moment she welcomed the feeling of a little relaxation.

"Okay then." Hope sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She looked around at the room and gave a small laugh, "You're going to have one hell of a time cleaning."

Egon gave a small smile, looking around at the mess that he, Ray, and Peter would have to pick up before 'going into business'.

"You never answered my question, Dr. Spengler." Hope licked her lips and returned his smile.

"Which question?" Egon asked, Hope not sure if he was being sarcastic with her because of the amount of questions she had thrown at him or if he was completely serious.

"What are you guys doing with this place?" She asked again, indicating to the building they were standing in.

"Opening the one, thee only, Ghostbusters: spook extermination, entrapment, and storage." Hope and Egon looked at Peter who walked back into the room, sliding a pen into his suit jacket.

"Ghost...busters?" Hope spoke the name slowly, trying to register it in her head. She looked back at Egon, "You're going to catch...ghosts?"

"Yes, and make billions." Peter rubbed his hands together and did a little dance/walk over to them, a grin on his face. Hope gave a sort of sobbing type laugh and threw her hands up, feeling like...well, she actually didn't know exactly what she was feeling at the moment.

"Hope!" Ray ran down the stairs and up beside Peter, surprised that she was there. Hope held up a hand to him when he was about to say something more.

"Save it, Raymond." She barked and shook her head, crossing her arms, "Fine. You can keep the mortgage, buy this crap hole, fix it up, and turn it into a ghost hunter business. Fine, whatever, but I'm going to be a part of it and I'm going to get a share. Agreed?"

The three men looked at each other, Ray shrugging to the other two, unsure of the idea. Egon nodded once and then Ray did, both looking at Peter.

"I don't like it." He began, his tone as sarcastic as ever, "But you have yourself a deal."

"Good. Now first thing's first." Hope started and placed her hands on her hips, staring at the boys with a smile. She may not like it all, but Ray wanted it and unfortunately she couldn't say no to her older brother, "We need to clean up, fix up, and put your faces out in the media."

"We'll start cleaning tonight and fix up when we're done, but how are we gonna get in the media?" Ray asked, looking at the other two for an idea.

"Commercial." Hope answered simply and then thought about it a moment, "I think I may know someone who can help."

Hope smirked to herself and then turned on her heels, heading to the stairs.

"Get cleaning boys! Cameras will be here in a week!" She called back at them as she climbed the stairs and headed out of the building, knowing exactly who she was going to call when she got home.


	3. Chapter 3: A Good Guy

**{~Stay Puft~}**

The next few days consisted of Hope returning to the old fire house and helping the boys clean up the place. Fortunately for Hope, she had been able to call in a favor from a longtime friend and gotten the boys a discounted commercial shoot that would happen Saturday.

Today Hope was back again at the fire house, though there was little left to be done she wanted things to at least look perfect with the old and decrepit place. Egon and Ray were, for the moment, busy trying to fix up the things they could while Peter...well Peter was lazy and decided not to show more times then not and today was one of them.

Hope hit the bottom of the steps into the garage, which had been completely cleaned out, and flipped on the radio that sat in an old chair beside a back wall. Instantly she began to dance with a broom she picked up from being laid against the wall, sweeping the floor every now and then.

_I met you on somebody's island._

_You thought you had known me before._

_I brought you a crate of papaya._

_They waited all night by your door._

"Hope, where's that hammer from yesterday?" Ray asked, walking out with Egon from a door behind her. Hope pointed to a small table right beside them and watched Ray pick up the hammer that was sitting on it, "Thanks! Are you getting any work done!?"

_You probably wouldn't remember._

_I probably couldn't forget.  
Jungle love in the surf in the pouring rain;_

_Everything's better when wet._

"Jungle love it's drivin' me mad. It's makin' me crazy, crazy." She sang to herself as she spun around once and then took the end of the broom and held it to her like a microphone, "Jungle love it's drivin' me mad. It's makin' me craz-zay!"

"I think that's a no." Egon answered from beside Ray as they watched Hope continue as though in her own little world.

"I am too!" Hope laughed as she continued to dance, humming along as she began to sweep the last of the filth on the cement floor

_But lately you live in the jungle.  
I never see you alone,  
But we need some definite answers.  
So I thought I would write you a poem._

"Ray, can I ask you something?" Egon began, looking away from the blonde several feet away from them. Ray looked at Egon and nodded, "What is Hope a doctor of exactly?"

"Archeology and Anthropology." Ray replied, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling, "That's where she's been for the last four years; on a dig in Russia and then one in France."

_The question to everyone's answer,  
Is usually asked from within,  
But the patterns of the rain  
And the truth they contain  
Have written my life on your skin_

"Jungle love it's drivin' me mad. It's makin' me crazy, crazy." She sang again, laughing to herself as she danced over to them, "Jungle love it's drivin' me mad. It's makin' me craz-zay!"

"I take it she's a fan of Steve Miller too." Egon deduced as he and Ray watched Hope continue as though she were alone in the room.

"She loves him." Ray answered as Hope came up to Ray and took him by his arms, pulling him out into the open room, dancing.

_You treat me like I was your ocean.  
You swim in my blood when it's warm.  
My cycles of circular motion,  
Protect you and keep you from harm_

Hope let go of Ray, who had begun laughing with her, and turned to Egon. She motioned with her finger for him to come dance with her, but Egon stood rooted to his spot. Hope smiled and walked up to him, taking him by his hands.

"Dance with me." She laughed and began dancing in again.

_You live in a world of illusion  
Where everything's peaches and cream _

She took him by his hands again, trying to get him to move. Hope had days decided to make it her personal mission to break Egon out of his 'serious' shell and make him a little more out-going. So far though, she hadn't done a very good job.

"Come on Egon!" Ray laughed and watched as Hope dance while holding Egon to his place before her, standing stiff and looking slightly uncomfortable. Hope closed her eyes and kept a firm hold on Egon as she moved this way and that, signing to the song.

_We all face a scarlet conclusion,  
But we spend our time in a dream _

"Come on Egon! I promise not to tell anyone that you like to dance with pretty girls!" Hope laughed when she opened her eyes to see him still standing stiffly. Egon swallowed the lump in is throat and continued to stand in his spot, "Jungle love it's drivin' me mad. It's makin' me crazy, crazy. Jungle love it's drivin' me mad. It's makin' me crazzzzz-zaayyyy!"

Hope stopped dancing and took a few deep breaths, feeling winded from the activity as she grinned up at Egon. She let the grin fade to a soft smile, feeling a little bad for trying to get him to do something she had known he wouldn't or wanted to.

"You owe me a dance now, Dr. Spengler." Hope placed her hands on her hips and looked to Ray, who had walked up beside her, "Gosh, I haven't dance like that since my trip to Brazil."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you went to Rio de Janeiro." Ray stated and then waved the hammer in his hand from Hope to Egon, "I was just telling Egon that you were in Russia and France for the last four years."

Hope caught the hammer when it nearly hit her in the face and pulled it from his hands, holding it beside her. She looked at Ray a moment, eyes a little narrowed but smiling.

"Really? _Why?_" Hope laughed, finding it a little odd that they were talking about her. Ray gave a small shrug, looking up at Egon.

"I asked about what your degrees were in." Egon replied, finding nothing wrong with what he had asked. Hope nodded her head as she began to walk back to the radio sitting on the chair.

"Oh, doctorate in archeology and anthropology, and then a master's in art history." Hope replied automatically, proud of herself as she turned down the volume on the radio.

"When did you get a degree in art history?" Ray asked, surprised as watched her lean the broom against the wall.

"While I was in France they had started this accelerated program that only took eight weeks to complete for one normal year of college. So I figured as long as I'm there for two years, why not make the most of it?" Hope smiled and looked around the room, happy with how much cleaner it was from the day the building had been bought. Hope looked at the boys and laughed.

"What?" Ray asked as he and Egon walked closer.

"I think I'm done cleaning." She answered an idea forming in her head.

"You were done yesterday." Ray replied, looking up at Egon confused. He returned the look, not sure what Hope was getting at.

"I can start painting now." Hope answered both their looks, "I was thinking either hunter green for half the walls and then white bricks above it or cocoa brown and tan bricks in here."

"Do whatever you want." Ray reached out an took the hammer from Hope's hand. Hope bit her bottom lip and shook her head, not sure which color.

"What do you think Egon?" Hope asked, turning her eyes to him, "Hunter green and white bricks or cocoa brown and tan?"

Egon looked at Ray and then her, not sure how to answer.

"I want a serious answer and Egon, serious is what you do. Please, which one?" Hope encouraged, placing her hands back on her hips once more.

"Green and white." He replied after a moment and Hope's smile brightened.

"Good, I was thinking the same." She nodded her head and walked passed them, "Would either or both of you like to get the paint with me?"

"Egon and I still have some wire fixtures to take care of in the back." Ray replied, motioning with the hammer to the room behind him and Egon.

"Fine, be that way. Fun suckers." Hope scoffed sarcastically at them and then licked her lips, "Where the hell's Venkman?"

"Who? Little ol' me?" The three of them looked to the stairs as Peter slowly descended them, "Wow, you guys have been working hard."

"Hope did most of the garage Peter." Egon spoke as Peter looked at Hope surprised.

"The Princess?" He asked sarcastically.

"I really hate being called that." Hope replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I think it fits you perfectly." Peter countered and placed his hands into his coat pockets, "Didn't break too many nails, did you?"

Hope glared at Peter with her jaw tight and hands clenched. She gave a small scathing laugh and then shook her head.

"How about you come with me? I was just about to leave." She smiled sarcastically, knowing that if he did she would surely kill him, "I'm getting paint and then painting the room."

"As _wonderful_ as that sounds I think I'll stay here." Peter replied and turned away from her. Hope shook her head and looked back at Ray and Egon.

"Will one of you please come with me?" She asked, knowing that she couldn't carry the paint on her own, "I can't carry the cans by myself."

"Yeah, I will." Ray offered and handed the hammer to Egon, walking up to her. They walked out of the old fire house and onto the sidewalk outside.

"Why are you friends with him?" Hope asked as she watched Ray try to hail a taxi. Ray let his hand fall from the air and looked back at her.

"He's not so bad. I mean he's just serious all the time and really straightforward, but he's a good guy. He's got a real sweet tooth too." Ray replied, trying to wave down another taxi. Hope stared at Ray as though he had three heads and then realized who he was talking about.

"No, not Egon. I was talking about Peter." She corrected and walked up beside him, throwing her hand into the air, "TAXI!"

"Well, Peter can be a good guy too. He's just a little..." Ray didn't know how to finish the sentence and this caused Hope to laugh.

"Peter a good guy..." Hope laughed again as a taxi pulled up beside the sidewalk and as she climbed in she shook her head, "Maybe when Hell freezes over."

She told the driver to head to the nearest hardware store and once Ray was in they took off down the road of busy afternoon traffic.


	4. Chapter 4: She's A Princess

**{~Stay Puft~}**

"What is her problem?" Peter scoffed as Hope helped Ray into the simple uniform they had all concocted. He scoffed again and looked to Egon who stood beside him in the same tan uniform. Egon met Peter's gaze and then looked back at Hope.

"What do you mean?" Egon asked honestly not seeing a problem with Hope.

"She's dangerous Egon. Very dangerous. She's a man-eater." Peter scoffed again and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I like her." Egon looked at Peter form the corner of his eyes.

"You would egghead. She's got the smarts, the looks, and pays you the time of day." Peter scoffed again, shaking his head as he looked back at Hope. Egon gave a small head shake of his own as Hope and Ray approached, both talking and laughing about something. Hope looked at them all, making sure they looked alright in their tan jumpsuits and smiled to herself.

"Okay, so do you need to run through how this is going to go again or are you all set?" Hope asked with a bright smile as she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. Ray and Egon looked at each other and then at her, about to say something.

"We're fine Princess." Peter scoffed and walked passed them all to where they were supposed to stand. Hope shook her head at him, wanting to tell him to 'shove it' and looked at Ray and Egon.

"Ignore him Hope." Ray pat her on the shoulder and walked away to stand beside Peter.

"You intimidate him." Egon stated as he walked passed her, making Hope laugh. She turned around, watching them stand side by side in front of the old truck entrance to the fire house and then walked to a redheaded girl in a long skirt and turtleneck.

"Thank you for this again, Irene." Hope spoke softly as the shooting for the small commercial began. She watched as Ray took a step forward and spoke to the camera mechanically and then step back to the tape on the ground.

"Hey, you helped me pass my history class in college. If you hadn't of I don't where I would be right now. This is the least I could do." Irene responded with a smile as they both turned back to the guys and watched as Egon now stepped forward, watching to make sure he stepped into the right place, and spoke to the camera uncomfortably.

"Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?" He spoke mechanically and then stepped back, looking down at the ground to make sure he was on the tape Hope had placed down for each of them. Hope bit on her nail and she smiled brightly, her eyes never leaving Egon as he stood nervously while the other two spoke.

"He's a cutie, the one with glasses." Irene commented with a small laugh, noticing the look on Hope's face. Hope gave a nod and crossed her arms over her chest, biting her bottom lip, "Tall and shy."

"Yes he is. He's a real sweetheart too." Hope replied as she watched all three of the guys take a step towards the camera together.

"Sounds like someone has a crush." Irene nudged Hope lightly. Hope shook her head and licked her lips, taking a deep breath.

"No," Hope answered honestly, "I just feel like...like...I don't know how I feel."

"Same old Hope." Irene laughed and covered her mouth with the clipboard she held, looking down at the ground. Hope nudged her and then looked back at the guys.

"Ghostbusters." They all said in unison as Ray went on to speak further about the business. Each of the guys pointed a finger at the camera, "We're ready to believe you."

"Great!" Hope called out to them as she clapped, once the camera had stopped rolling of course. She walked forward and pulled Ray into a hug and then quickly gave Egon one, pulling away before he could either return it or reject it, "That was great you guys!"

"Thanks Hope." Ray smiled sheepishly.

"Aw, no hug for me Princess?" Peter pouted and opened his arms to her. Hope narrowed her eyes at him, not sure whether or not he was being nice. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him, "Oh yes, this is nice."

Hope tried to pull away from him, but that only made him hold her tighter.

"Let go. Peter let go!" Hope began to laugh as she struggled against Peter's embrace. Peter let her go and smirked, pretending to act sad. Hope straightened her shirt and laughed again, "You're a jerk."

"And you're a Princess." Peter replied as he took off the tan uniform he and the other two were in, "So now we're even."

"It's nice to see you two getting along." Ray commented with a smile, taking off his uniform. Hope looked at Ray and then at Peter strangely. Peter returned her look and then closed his eyes, shaking his head as if to say 'I don't even try to understand anymore'.

"Yeah we get along just fine." Hope took the uniform from Peter and then from Ray and Egon. She walked back to Irene and paid her, saying goodbye before walking into the old fire house. She stopped and walked back to the door she had walked through, sticking her head back out, "Who's hungry? I'm buying tonight."

"I say calzones." Peter announced and walked up to Hope, wrapping an arm around her neck.

"Fine pizza and calzones." Hope agreed, removing his arm from around her neck. They all walked into the fire house, each of their stomachs growling as Hope dialed the number to her favorite pizzeria.

"Pizza's here!" Hope called out as she took the three large rectangular boxes with a smaller one sitting on top. She walked over to the front desk in the garage and set them down, laying them beside each other the best she could without one falling off the desk.

"I hope they didn't burn my calzone like the last time." Peter commented as he and the other two walked into the room and dove into the food before Hope could even think to grab the paper plates from the desk drawer. Hope slapped a plate against Peter's shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Your calzone's fine." She dropped the plate once he took it and handed the other two one as well. She quickly took a piece of plain cheese and sat down in one of the chairs Ray had drug over from the corner.

"So, Princess," Peter began as they all had gotten some food into their grumbling stomachs. Hope looked at him as she took a bit of her pizza, wondering what he was going to say, "Why is your last name Thurman?"

Hope thought about it for a moment and chewed the cheese, bread, and tomato concoction in her mouth. She gave a small shrug, wiping her mouth.

"Thurman was our mother's last name." Hope started, getting up from her seat and walking to the trash can where she threw her plate, crust, and napkin into it, "I didn't exactly get along with our father. So when I turned eighteen I had it legally changed. Simple as that."

"Uh-huh." Peter stated, not believing that it was as simple as that at all. Hope sat back down in her seat and crossed her legs, waiting for any more questions he was going to throw at her, "You're hiding something."

"Yeah, you're right. I am." Hope replied, not denying a major factor to the name change. She took a sip of the can of soda she had placed on the desk and then set it back down. Ray looked at her and then at Peter, his eyes begging him to stop now.

"What is it?" Egon asked suddenly, his curiosity sparked. Hope looked at him a moment, unsure if she should answer and then sighed.

"He disowned me." She answered softly, her eyes never leaving his, "He wanted me to go into science. I wanted to be an archaeologist. I became an archaeologist and so he disowned me. End of story."

The room fell silent, each of them in their own thoughts. Hope hated the fact that her and Ray's father did that over something as stupid as not wanting to follow in his footsteps. He had Ray, wasn't that enough? She loved history and traveling and hiking and finding things that haven't been found before. Archeology was perfect for her. She loved it then and even more now. It was her passion.

"I don't like talking about him because of all that. I think it's stupid he reacted the way he did, but it happened and our relationship paid for it." Hope spoke up, wanting to explain further to them, but held her tongue, "He's dead so it doesn't matter anymore."

Each of them looked at her and then at each other, unsure of what to say or how to respond.

"So, you're an archaeologist. How's that treating you? Do a lot of traveling?" Peter changed the subject quickly, which Hope was thankful for. She gave a small, dejected laugh and took her soda.

"It's good. I get to travel around the world, which is exactly what I wanted. I love it." She smiled and drank the remainder of the liquid, "I love finding new things and going to new places."

"Oh, really? Have you been to Cancun? It's spectacular. The women are amazing." Peter leaned forward on the desk and Hope laughed, shaking her head.

"No, I haven't." She laughed again, feeling a little happier now that they were off the subject of her father.

"She was just in Russia and France looking for some artifacts." Ray spoke up and placed his plate on the desk top, "She's also gone to Brazil, Australia, and even Egypt to the pyramids."

"I also went to Alaska. Ray came with me that time." Hope laughed at the memory of bringing Ray on her dig up in the wilderness of the frozen state, "That was fun."

"For who?" Ray asked as he remembered the trip himself. Hope laughed and went on to explain the experience in detail while Ray threw in his own parts, trying to not make himself seem like such a dork that Hope made him out to be.

"Oh! And then we had to camp out in the wildlife park for two days and Ray was complaining that he couldn't go the bathroom in the woods!" Hope laughed as Ray began to defend himself and his actions while Egon smiled and Peter smirked, making his own comments, "Then we hiked along the bottom of Mount Doonerak. Ray was ready to just drop into the snow and give up."

"I was not." Ray countered.

"Were too!" Hope laughed and then looked at Peter and Egon, "In all fairness though we did a lot more round about paths just to annoy him."

"I knew it felt way longer then it should." Ray grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. Hope smiled and looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was almost nine.

"Ugh, I got to go home." She groaned and stood from her seat, "I've got work tomorrow. I'll see you guys Wednesday."

The guys said goodbye as Hope walked out the door and down the street. Egon looked back at Peter, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Is she still that bad, Venkman?" He asked and waited a minute before standing with Ray. They left Peter sitting in the garage with the mess of pizza boxes and calzone boxes, scoffing to himself.

"She's a Princess. That's as bad as they come." He scoffed again and walked from the room, leaving the boxes for Hope when she came back next.

**{~Stay Puft~}**

"What is her problem?" Peter scoffed as Hope helped Ray into the simple uniform they had all concocted. He scoffed again and looked to Egon who stood beside him in the same tan uniform. Egon met Peter's gaze and then looked back at Hope.

"What do you mean?" Egon asked honestly not seeing a problem with Hope.

"She's dangerous Egon. Very dangerous. She's a man-eater." Peter scoffed again and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I like her." Egon looked at Peter form the corner of his eyes.

"You would egghead. She's got the smarts, the looks, and pays you the time of day." Peter scoffed again, shaking his head as he looked back at Hope. Egon gave a small head shake of his own as Hope and Ray approached, both talking and laughing about something. Hope looked at them all, making sure they looked alright in their tan jumpsuits and smiled to herself.

"Okay, so do you need to run through how this is going to go again or are you all set?" Hope asked with a bright smile as she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. Ray and Egon looked at each other and then at her, about to say something.

"We're fine Princess." Peter scoffed and walked passed them all to where they were supposed to stand. Hope shook her head at him, wanting to tell him to 'shove it' and looked at Ray and Egon.

"Ignore him Hope." Ray pat her on the shoulder and walked away to stand beside Peter.

"You intimidate him." Egon stated as he walked passed her, making Hope laugh. She turned around, watching them stand side by side in front of the old truck entrance to the fire house and then walked to a redheaded girl in a long skirt and turtleneck.

"Thank you for this again, Irene." Hope spoke softly as the shooting for the small commercial began. She watched as Ray took a step forward and spoke to the camera mechanically and then step back to the tape on the ground.

"Hey, you helped me pass my history class in college. If you hadn't of I don't where I would be right now. This is the least I could do." Irene responded with a smile as they both turned back to the guys and watched as Egon now stepped forward, watching to make sure he stepped into the right place, and spoke to the camera uncomfortably.

"Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?" He spoke mechanically and then stepped back, looking down at the ground to make sure he was on the tape Hope had placed down for each of them. Hope bit on her nail and she smiled brightly, her eyes never leaving Egon as he stood nervously while the other two spoke.

"He's a cutie, the one with glasses." Irene commented with a small laugh, noticing the look on Hope's face. Hope gave a nod and crossed her arms over her chest, biting her bottom lip, "Tall and shy."

"Yes he is. He's a real sweetheart too." Hope replied as she watched all three of the guys take a step towards the camera together.

"Sounds like someone has a crush." Irene nudged Hope lightly. Hope shook her head and licked her lips, taking a deep breath.

"No," Hope answered honestly, "I just feel like...like...I don't know how I feel."

"Same old Hope." Irene laughed and covered her mouth with the clipboard she held, looking down at the ground. Hope nudged her and then looked back at the guys.

"Ghostbusters." They all said in unison as Ray went on to speak further about the business. Each of the guys pointed a finger at the camera, "We're ready to believe you."

"Great!" Hope called out to them as she clapped, once the camera had stopped rolling of course. She walked forward and pulled Ray into a hug and then quickly gave Egon one, pulling away before he could either return it or reject it, "That was great you guys!"

"Thanks Hope." Ray smiled sheepishly.

"Aw, no hug for me Princess?" Peter pouted and opened his arms to her. Hope narrowed her eyes at him, not sure whether or not he was being nice. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him, "Oh yes, this is nice."

Hope tried to pull away from him, but that only made him hold her tighter.

"Let go. Peter let go!" Hope began to laugh as she struggled against Peter's embrace. Peter let her go and smirked, pretending to act sad. Hope straightened her shirt and laughed again, "You're a jerk."

"And you're a Princess." Peter replied as he took off the tan uniform he and the other two were in, "So now we're even."

"It's nice to see you two getting along." Ray commented with a smile, taking off his uniform. Hope looked at Ray and then at Peter strangely. Peter returned her look and then closed his eyes, shaking his head as if to say 'I don't even try to understand anymore'.

"Yeah we get along just fine." Hope took the uniform from Peter and then from Ray and Egon. She walked back to Irene and paid her, saying goodbye before walking into the old fire house. She stopped and walked back to the door she had walked through, sticking her head back out, "Who's hungry? I'm buying tonight."

"I say calzones." Peter announced and walked up to Hope, wrapping an arm around her neck.

"Fine pizza and calzones." Hope agreed, removing his arm from around her neck. They all walked into the fire house, each of their stomachs growling as Hope dialed the number to her favorite pizzeria.

"Pizza's here!" Hope called out as she took the three large rectangular boxes with a smaller one sitting on top. She walked over to the front desk in the garage and set them down, laying them beside each other the best she could without one falling off the desk.

"I hope they didn't burn my calzone like the last time." Peter commented as he and the other two walked into the room and dove into the food before Hope could even think to grab the paper plates from the desk drawer. Hope slapped a plate against Peter's shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Your calzone's fine." She dropped the plate once he took it and handed the other two one as well. She quickly took a piece of plain cheese and sat down in one of the chairs Ray had drug over from the corner.

"So, Princess," Peter began as they all had gotten some food into their grumbling stomachs. Hope looked at him as she took a bit of her pizza, wondering what he was going to say, "Why is your last name Thurman?"

Hope thought about it for a moment and chewed the cheese, bread, and tomato concoction in her mouth. She gave a small shrug, wiping her mouth.

"Thurman was our mother's last name." Hope started, getting up from her seat and walking to the trash can where she threw her plate, crust, and napkin into it, "I didn't exactly get along with our father. So when I turned eighteen I had it legally changed. Simple as that."

"Uh-huh." Peter stated, not believing that it was as simple as that at all. Hope sat back down in her seat and crossed her legs, waiting for any more questions he was going to throw at her, "You're hiding something."

"Yeah, you're right. I am." Hope replied, not denying a major factor to the name change. She took a sip of the can of soda she had placed on the desk and then set it back down. Ray looked at her and then at Peter, his eyes begging him to stop now.

"What is it?" Egon asked suddenly, his curiosity sparked. Hope looked at him a moment, unsure if she should answer and then sighed.

"He disowned me." She answered softly, her eyes never leaving his, "He wanted me to go into science. I wanted to be an archaeologist. I became an archaeologist and so he disowned me. End of story."

The room fell silent, each of them in their own thoughts. Hope hated the fact that her and Ray's father did that over something as stupid as not wanting to follow in his footsteps. He had Ray, wasn't that enough? She loved history and traveling and hiking and finding things that haven't been found before. Archeology was perfect for her. She loved it then and even more now. It was her passion.

"I don't like talking about him because of all that. I think it's stupid he reacted the way he did, but it happened and our relationship paid for it." Hope spoke up, wanting to explain further to them, but held her tongue, "He's dead so it doesn't matter anymore."

Each of them looked at her and then at each other, unsure of what to say or how to respond.

"So, you're an archaeologist. How's that treating you? Do a lot of traveling?" Peter changed the subject quickly, which Hope was thankful for. She gave a small, dejected laugh and took her soda.

"It's good. I get to travel around the world, which is exactly what I wanted. I love it." She smiled and drank the remainder of the liquid, "I love finding new things and going to new places."

"Oh, really? Have you been to Cancun? It's spectacular. The women are amazing." Peter leaned forward on the desk and Hope laughed, shaking her head.

"No, I haven't." She laughed again, feeling a little happier now that they were off the subject of her father.

"She was just in Russia and France looking for some artifacts." Ray spoke up and placed his plate on the desk top, "She's also gone to Brazil, Australia, and even Egypt to the pyramids."

"I also went to Alaska. Ray came with me that time." Hope laughed at the memory of bringing Ray on her dig up in the wilderness of the frozen state, "That was fun."

"For who?" Ray asked as he remembered the trip himself. Hope laughed and went on to explain the experience in detail while Ray threw in his own parts, trying to not make himself seem like such a dork that Hope made him out to be.

"Oh! And then we had to camp out in the wildlife park for two days and Ray was complaining that he couldn't go the bathroom in the woods!" Hope laughed as Ray began to defend himself and his actions while Egon smiled and Peter smirked, making his own comments, "Then we hiked along the bottom of Mount Doonerak. Ray was ready to just drop into the snow and give up."

"I was not." Ray countered.

"Were too!" Hope laughed and then looked at Peter and Egon, "In all fairness though we did a lot more round about paths just to annoy him."

"I knew it felt way longer then it should." Ray grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. Hope smiled and looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was almost nine.

"Ugh, I got to go home." She groaned and stood from her seat, "I've got work tomorrow. I'll see you guys Wednesday."

The guys said goodbye as Hope walked out the door and down the street. Egon looked back at Peter, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Is she still that bad, Venkman?" He asked and waited a minute before standing with Ray. They left Peter sitting in the garage with the mess of pizza boxes and calzone boxes, scoffing to himself.

"She's a Princess. That's as bad as they come." He scoffed again and walked from the room, leaving the boxes for Hope when she came back next.


	5. Chapter 5: A Drowned Cat

Hey guys! Sorry for my delay in updating the story. I have been pretty busy lately and the next few weeks aren't going to be any better. Thanks for your patience!

* * *

**{~Stay Puft~}**

A few days had gone by and during that time Hope had painted all the rooms in the building. Ray had helped a little and when it came time to do the bricks in the basement and garage they had to be done by an actual company.

She had painted each office a different color depending on each of the guy's personalities. Peter's was done with a light brown wood, one reason being because his office was out in the middle of the garage the other because, like the wood, Peter was unchangeable.

Egon's office was a story lower and had been painted a royal blue because he was serious and placid while Ray's, which was a story above the garage, had been painted a color called 'million dollar red'. To Hope it looked like a red brick color, but suited her brother's personality well since he was so warm hearted.

The building had also gotten a sign outside that said 'GHOSTBUSTERS' in big bold letters. The rest of the outside was the same, but inside the building was completely furnished. Most of it was Hope's idea with some help from Egon when she couldn't decide between colors, fabrics, woods, etc., because the others really didn't care what it looked like so long as it was done.

Egon had hooked up everything electronic within the building including several computers. He had also begun looking at the water pipes, wanting to make sure they had everything they would need for the 'business'.

Peter, like usual, hadn't really helped at all except moving the desks into the offices and then had sat down in the chair unwilling to budge. Hope had gotten to know him better though, since of course whenever she had been painting he had found it his mission to sit in the room and distract her.

She had found out that Peter was born in Brooklyn. In fact he had lived on a block over from she and Ray had spent their childhood. He most certainly had more street smarts then many of the normal scientists she had met, which were always more like Egon, and he was also very shrewd. Hope had come to label him as flippant, laid back, sarcastic, and overall a womanizer. A womanizer she was beginning to not dislike as much the more time she spent around him.

"Hope! Come look at this!" Hope looked to the open door of the bedroom she was in, touching up places she had missed with the light yellow paint she had decided to use. She set the brush into the sink and closed up the can of paint, heading down into the garage in her paint splashed overalls and pigtails.

"What?" Hope asked as she came down the stairs. Her eyes landed on something multicolored in the garage and instantly she shook her head, not liking it, "No, absolutely not Raymond. Bring it back now."

"But it's perfect Hope!" Ray smiled, patting the old car on the hood, "She's exactly what we need!"

"Really? Because it looks like it's been through a war. Does it even run?" Hope commented as she walked around the car, afraid that the thing would simply fall apart any minute.

"How do you think I got back?" Ray asked with a triumphant smile, making Hope's eyebrows raise as she gave him a look. Hope shook her head, throwing the comment from her mind as she stared at the car in disgust.

Here and there were white blotches, blue blotches, gray blotches, and every other dark color under the sun. The tires looked like they were melting. The windows were tainted with grime and overall it was a piece of junk.

"How much work needs to be done?" She asked as she tried to look through one of the windows and passed the drapes inside of it.

"Needs some suspension work...and shocks," Ray spoke, thinking about the work he would have to do for the car.

"Okay, is there anything else?" Hope asked, trying to see through the window once more.

"...brakes, brake pads, lining, steering, transmission, rear end-"

"How much did you pay, Ray?" Hope asked suddenly and looked up from the window she was at to him.

"Just forty-eight hundred." He replied nonchalantly and shrugged. Hope's eyes went wide and she looked to Peter who stood beside Ray as though she were about to have a heart attack. She mouthed back the price to Peter, almost asking him what her brother was thinking.

"Just look at it this way Princess." Peter began and tapped the hood of the car, "You have something else to paint and decorate."

"Oh, yeah because I know how to paint a car Peter." Hope spoke sarcastically and looked back down at the car that sat in the garage beside her. She shook her head again and sighed, knowing she should have gone with Ray to make sure this didn't happen, "Fix it while I come up with paint ideas. God this sucks..."

Hope walked away from them and back up the stairs. She walked back into the bedroom where several cot looking beds sat and moved to the sink.

"Egon?" Hope asked, seeing a body protruding from the cabinet under the sink. She walked closer as Egon slowly pulled himself from the cabinet to look at her, "What are you doing?"

"Peter said that there were a few problems with the sink. I'm fixing it." He replied simply and crawled back into the cabinet.

"Oh." Hope spoke softly and stepped over him, one leg on each side of him and reached into the sink. She pulled the paint brush from the sink and walked over to the paint can sitting on the small round table. She reopened it and dipped the brush into the can beginning to paint, only brushing over spots that were either to thin or blotched. She stood on her tiptoes, trying to reach a spot that just seemed just out of her reach.

"Hey Egon?" She called and fell back onto flat feet, "Could you help me? I'm a little vertically challenged here."

Egon walked over from the cabinet and looked at her, not sure what she wanted him to do.

"Just that one spot up there." Hope pointed to a blotchy area and handed Egon the brush. Egon looked at the wall, trying to find said blotchy area. Hope watched him for a moment and then gave a small laugh, realizing that he didn't see what she did, "Riiggghhht there."

Hope moved his arm so the brush was over the spot she saw. Egon quickly painted the spot and handed the brush back to her.

"I think the room is done." Egon stated, looking back at the spot that seemed non-existent to him. Hope laughed and walked back to the can of paint, closing it once more.

"Sorry, it's just that I get paid to see spots in old art that no one else can." Hope replied and moved back to the sink. She set the brush in it and looked back at him, "I can be a perfectionist with that kind of stuff."

She laughed and then went to turn on the water for the sink.

"Wait Hope!" Egon outstretched his hand to try and stop her from turning on the sink, but it was too late. Hope twisted the cold water nozzle and as soon as she did the sink let out a jet of water that hit her in the face.

"AH!" Hope screamed and raised her hands, trying to block the water from her face. She huffed and spluttered, trying to open her eyes, "Egon! Turn it off!"

Egon rushed forward and tried to turn off the water, getting sprayed himself. Hope laughed as she watched Egon struggle with turning off the nozzle. She took a step back, trying to get herself out of the way of the water and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Egon spun around and tried to help her off the ground, but finding that the floor was too slippery. He fell to the ground with her as she laughed whole heartedly at the situation. He quickly got up, sliding and slipping. He then went into the cabinet below the sink, trying to turn of the connection from the sink to the water line.

The water stopped and Hope sat on the ground, soaking wet and still laughing as she looked at the puddle of water around her. Egon pulled himself from the cabinet and looked at her, hair stuck to her face and smile on her lips. He was completely unsure of what to say to her. Hope carefully picked herself up from the ground, trying not to slip. Egon followed suit and leaned against the counter for support.

"Well, I guess I got my shower." Hope laughed and looked up at him. His hair was wet and sticking to his forehead while little drops of water were still sliding down his glasses, "And so did you it looks like."

She moved closer to him and took his glasses from his head. She reached to the only dry part of her shirt that was on her side by her hip and wiped the water off. She gently placed them back on his head and stared at him a moment.

"I can't decide." She started, looking at him with a soft smile.

"What is it this time?" Egon asked, rearranging the glasses.

"Whether you're cuter with or without your glasses." Hope smirked and turned from him, sliding across the floor a little to get to the closet in the room, "Why don't you go and get changed while I clean this mess up?"

Hope took a mop from the closet and closed the doors, moving back to where the puddle began. Egon took the mop from her and gave a small smile.

"**You** go change and **I'll** clean up. You look like a drowned cat anyway." Egon gave a small laugh while Hope stared at him slightly surprised by the comment.

"Why Dr. Spengler...I think I may get you out of that shy shell just yet." Hope nodded and turned from him, walking to the door while her clothes stuck to her.


	6. Chapter 6: Altophobia

**{~Stay Puft~}**

Several more days had passed and the building seemed to be complete. There was furniture, the place was all painted and fixed up, but with Hope nothing is done till she said it is.

"Egon can you give me a hand?" Hope asked from where she stood on the step ladder, trying to hang a picture. Egon walked over from where he and Ray stood by the car and beside Hope.

"Why don't you go up one more." Egon stated, wondering why she would only stand on the second step and not on the top. Hope shook her head and sighed, turning to look at him.

"Only if you make sure I don't fall. This thing is falling apart." Hope let her arm holding the picture she was trying to hand, fall, and began to stand on the top.

"What's going on?" Peter asked as he walked in from the truck entrance. Ray gave a small laugh and kept his eyes on Egon and Hope with his arms crossed.

"Hope's afraid of heights and Egon's supposed to make sure she doesn't fall." Ray replied, watching Hope as her legs wobbled uncontrollably as she stood on the already shaky step ladder. Egon had both his hands raised up as he watched Hope uncomfortably, almost praying for her not to fall. Peter nodded his head at the situation and gave a small 'oh' as a response to what Ray had said.

"Don't fall!" Peter yelled out suddenly, scaring Hope so much that she tipped backwards and indeed fell. Egon also wasn't expecting the outburst and when Hope fell back onto him, he tumbled to the ground as well.

Hope opened her eyes and stared down at Egon, her breath catching in her throat at the way they were positioned; her straddling him while her forearms and hands were stuck beneath his back. She felt her blood race to her cheeks as she scrambled to pick herself up, only making things worse.

"Hope! Egon!" Ray called out as he ran to them, wanting to make sure they were alright. He grabbed hold of one of her arms, trying to help her up.

"Oh Egon, I-I' m so sorry." Hope stuttered quickly as she picked herself up off of the ground and him. Peter walked up slowly, a smirk on his face and hands in his pockets. Ray helped Egon from the ground, asking him if he was alright.

"You alright Hope?" Ray asked, looking over at her. Hope went to say something, but shut her mouth tightly and turned on her heels, sprinting to the stairs and out of the room. Ray looked back at Peter, disappointed with him.

"Now why'd you have to go and do that?" Ray asked as Egon straightened the white lab coat he was wearing and then his glasses.

"What?" Peter asked, pretending to have no clue as to what Ray was referring to.

"I told you she has an irrational fear of heights." Ray snapped kind of, a little annoyed with Peter, "Why would you yell out 'don't fall' when you knew she would?"

"Oh come on. She was on a step ladder. That's like three feet off the ground." Peter indicated the height of three feet with his hand and shook his head at it, "Who's afraid of being three feet off the ground?"

"Actually, Altophobia is very common and sometimes all it takes is standing on a chair and someone could have a panic attack." Egon stated seriously, looking between the two as he placed his hands into his lab coat pockets.

"Yeah, well did you see that blush Egon? I think the Princess has got the hots for you." Peter gave Egon a small nudge to his side.

"She was embarrassed Peter. So am I." Egon answered back and turned away from him and Ray. Ray soon followed, shaking his head as he went, leaving Peter by himself.

"Oh come on! It was a joke!" Peter called out and when he realized no one was coming back he decided to go into his 'office'.

Hope had gone into the bedroom and sat with her legs through the runs of the small railing that kept people from accidentally falling through the hole where the fire pole went. She leaned her head against the cool metal and held onto a run in each of her hands, grasping them tightly as she stared down the hole to the garage several feet below.

Tingles went through her hands and feet as they began to sweat from the anxiety that was beginning in her. She closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Hope?" Ray walked up to her and knelt beside her, waiting for her to look at him.

"What?" She asked though she refused to open her eyes or even let go of the runs that she was now holding so tightly that her knuckles turned a ghostly white.

"What are you doing?" Ray asked, confused by why she would choose to sit beside a hole that went at least fifty feet below.

"Sitting." She replied simply and turned her head from the hole, eyes till closed tightly.

"Yeah, I can see that, but why by the fire hole?" Ray asked and sat down beside her. Hope opened her eyes and stared at him, trying to keep her eyes from going to the corner and seeing the hole.

"Because it's a safe environment. There's this railing that I'm holding onto for dear life that's bolted into the floor. I can't fall even though I still feel like I can." Hope answered and took a deep breath, feeling her hands and feet tingling again.

"Are you doing this because of Peter?" Ray asked slowly.

"No." Hope shook her head and closed her eyes, "I'm doing it because I feel like an idiot with being afraid to climb a step ladder or a chair or even a little step stool."

Hope gave a small dejected laugh, feeling stupid for her fear. The siblings fell into silence as Hope opened her eyes and stared down at the fire hole.

"Um...i-is Egon alright?" Hope asked after a moment of staring into the hole, wanting to think about something else other then falling.

"He's fine. Was a little embarrassed, but no bumps or bruises." Ray turned himself around on the floor and leaned his back against the railing.

"Good. Keep talking to me." Hope breathed out as she kept her eyes on the hole, "It helps."

"Do you come here often?" Ray asked with a laugh. Hope gave a loud laugh and shook her head, whispering 'no', "Have you found someone for the front desk position?"

"Uh, yeah; Janine Meltzger I think? She's supposed to be coming in later today for an interview." Hope gave a small laugh remembering the conversation she had had with the woman over the phone, "She sounded kind of bookish."

"I'll take what we can get." Ray replied, being honest and hating the fact that they were in such a bind this early on.

"Don't worry. Starting a business takes time. Things can only get better from here." Hope smiled, turning her head from the hole to him.

"Thanks for helping us out." Ray meant every word because he knew that without her help they wouldn't have even gotten this far.

"Ray, you don't have to thank me. You're my brother." Hope smiled, "I'll support you in whatever you decide to do."

"It's nice to have you back Hopie." Ray smiled back at her. Hope laughed at the nickname from their childhood and looked at the fire hole.

"It's good to be ba-"

"Hopie!?" Hope and Ray looked back at Peter who had walked into the room with Egon, "He actually calls you Hopie!?"

Hope watched as Peter laughed and then stood up, turning away from the railing and the fire hole. She stormed up to Peter, standing mere inches from him.

"Peter, you're an idiot." Hope smiled and crossed her arms over her chest, "And in light of things I've decided to forgive you for earlier. Congratulations, now I have an interview to attend to."

Hope looked back at Ray, winking and then left the room with a smile, heading down to the garage and waiting for Janine to arrive.


	7. Chapter 7: First Customer

**{~Stay Puft~}**

Two weeks had passed and a new member had been added to the group; Janine Melnitz. The old firehouse was completely finished with painting and building. Gear was created, though not tested. The car was fixed, painted, and a decal of a ghost had been painted on the side of it. Overall Ghostbusters was officially in business.

Hope was proud of her brother for sticking with his idea of 'Ghostbusters' despite her not believing in the idea of ghosts. They hadn't had any costumers either which added to the dwindling hope she had for the business.

Ray had insisted she join as a 'Ghostbuster' instead of just an investor, but she had turned the offer down each time. She was content with her work at the Natural History Museum and soon she knew she would be receiving a promotion to Curator. She usually hung around the Ghostbuster building, helping clean up or even assisting the boys with something they needed a guinea pig for.

Hope had grown rather attached to all of them. Yes, even Peter despite his sarcasm and irritating comments that were usually directed at her in the worst ways. Peter could be a treat for her at times. His sarcasm was both a curse and a blessing when it wasn't directed at her. He was the class clown, but even with his jokes Hope knew he could be serious if the situation called for it.

She really loved spending time with Ray. She felt, though she would never ever admit it, that she had abandoned Ray to go off on her archaeological digs the last several years. Ray may be older then her, but she was always the one looking after him. Ever since they were kids and even though she knew he didn't resent her for anything she felt like she had to help him with the Ghostbusters. It was her way of making things up to him.

She had also grown rather attached to Egon. His seriousness and straightforwardness was what drew her to him. He didn't sugar coat things and she loved that. She could ask him anything and it would always be a straight answer. She could ask him, 'do these jeans make me look fat?' and the answer would be an honest yes or no, sometimes actually being a yes, which Hope supposed for any other girl would have ticked them off, but she appreciated it more then anything.

Egon always told her if she was doing something wrong, but would help her fix it. She felt comfortable around him. She wanted to be near him, be his friend. She wanted to always be straightforward with her. To her nothing was worse then someone lying to your face to keep you from being hurt. The truth hurts, but it's always less hurtful then a lie.

"Hope? Could you come in here?" Hope looked over the half wall that separated the 'offices' from the main room. She stood up from the chair she sat in, Janine's eyes landing on her.

"Tell him I need some help with this damn computer again." Janine snapped out and hit a key on the keyboard. Hope nodded her head, eyes wide in annoyance form the woman and walked into the other room.

"You called?" Hope smiled as she leaned against the doorway of the room.

"Yes, I would like to borrow your body for a moment." Egon replied from where he stood in front of several machines. He looked from the machines to the clipboard he was holding and scribbled something down on it.

"Only if you promise to talk dirty to me, Egon." Hope tried to hold back the laugh that was slowly making its way up her throat. She knew he didn't realize what he had said and when he looked over at her with a startled and confused look she held the laugh no longer. She pushed herself off the doorway and walked closer to him, arms crossed over her chest and smile on her lips, "Aw, Egon you're blushing."

Hope gave a small laugh, noticing the pink tinge to his cheeks. Egon looked away from her, his eyes looking everywhere, but at her as his cheeks turned a darker pink. Hope hushed her laugh and pressed her lips tightly against each other, scolding herself for embarrassing him.

"I'm sorry." She spoke up after a moment and stared at him, "What do you want me to do?"

"Um...well just sit in the chair." Egon turned away from her and picked up what looked to be like a upside down bowl with wire coming out of it. Hope sat down in the chair and crossed her legs, folding her hands in her lap. Egon placed the upside down bowl on her head.

"Am I getting a hair cut?" Hope asked as Egon knelt in front of her and strapped the chin strap on her.

"It's to see the true identity of a possession victim." He stated as he fixed the 'helmet' on her head and made sure the wires were attached correctly. Hope pushed back some hairs from her face and stared at Egon. Hope caught Egon's face in her hands and made him look at her.

"Don't I have to be possessed for you to see anything?? She asked quietly as she smiled and let him go. He gave a small unsure nod and stood up, looking back at the machines from before. He crossed his left arm over his chest and leaned his right elbow on it, his right hand by his mouth.

"Hm...interesting." Egon's voice caught Hope's attention causing her to look up at him the best she could from the chair.

"Have I secretly been possessed without my knowledge?" She laughed and tried to look at the screen that Egon stood in front of.

"No, you're not possessed." Egon's voice was monotone, no doubt that his thoughts were running wild. He moved to her and removed the helmet from her head. He stood up and held it in his hands tightly.

"Just ask me, Egon." Hope piped up at seeing the familiar look of him wanting to ask her something, but not being sure if her should.

"Does anyone in your family have any...paranormal talents?" Egon started while Hope's eyes narrowed at him.

"What do you mean by _paranormal_?" Hope asked slowly, unsure of what he was getting at.

"Telepathy or precognition for example?" Egon asked further. Hope stared at him for a long moment, unsure of what to say, "Or clairvoyance?"

"...Janine needs you. The computer's not working." Hope spoke softly and stood from the chair.

"Hope?" Egon grabbed her arm, causing her to look back at him. She swallowed the lump in her throat and gave a small nervous laugh.

"Egon, I don't believe in ghosts. What makes you think I believe in telepathy or precognition?" She stared at him a moment longer and then moved from the room, feeling a little on edge. She picked up the broom she had left and began to sweep again.

Egon walked out from the room after a moment and looked at Hope, trying to analyze her reaction. Hope gave him a small smile and continued to sweep while he walked over to Janine.

"You're very handy. I can tell." Janine's voice sounded over the room after a few minutes, "I bet you like to read a lot too. Do you like to read Egon?"

"Print is dead." Egon spoke automatically, not really wanting to get into a conversation again with Janine. Hope peeked out from one of the offices and watched Janine hit on Egon. Egon tried to make as little eye contact with the woman as much as possible. He knew she liked him, but the hints he gave off to her weren't strong enough or blunt enough Hope guessed.

"Oh, that's very fascinating to me. I read a lot myself. People say I'm too intellectual, but I think it's a fabulous way to spend your spare time. I also play racket ball." Janine stared at Egon and took off her glasses. She leaned closer to him, staring him down, "Do you have any hobbies?"

Hope laughed inwardly at the question, knowing the answer to it well. She had asked him the same questions days ago, trying to learn more about the man. She moved from the office and continued to sweep quietly.

Egon stood like he had been hit with a curve ball and swallowed the lump in his throat. He spotted Hope watching him and felt a blush on his cheeks again. He gave a small cough and looked back at Janine.

"I collect spores, molds, and fungus." Egon answered truthfully and uncomfortably as Hope mouthed the answer word for word. She smiled to herself as she heard Egon walk away from the desk and rush passed her. She watched him go into the laboratory and then moved closer to Janine.

"You're going to scare him away." She commented on Janine's attempt as she leaned against the broom. Janine looked at her, same unhappy look she always had on her face.

"What do you mean?" Janine asked in her monotone voice.

"Egon's one of those tall, dark, and handsome type of guys. If a woman comes on too strong with him, it makes him uncomfortable. Come on too light and he won't realize what you want." Hope let her chin sit on top of the broom handle as she dazed off. She gave a small smile at the thought of Egon, "The place he feels at home is with his science. Science to him is...simple, organized, and predictable. Anything else is like the way we look at calculus; complicated, difficult, and stressful."

"I understand calculus perfectly." Janine gave a small huff and looked back at her magazine.

"Of course you do, Janine." Hope scoffed and shook her head, sighing. She really didn't like this woman and was now sorry she ever hired her.

"You're just jealous because for the first time in your life a man doesn't want you." Janine picked up the magazine she had set down on her desk and began reading again, "Egon would rather have a smart, pretty girl then a dumb bimbo like you."

Hope licked her lips, intent on saying something harsh back to Janine, but went against it. She let the broom drop to the ground before walking into the laboratory and plopping down on the couch, crossing her legs like a pretzel. She tossed her hair from her face and leaned on the arm of the couch, sighing.

Egon took a quick look over at her from a clipboard he was using to write data on and noticed the somewhat sad look on her face. He looked back at a series of computers, curious about what was wrong.

"What's wrong?" He asked seeming to be actually interested in what had her vexed. Hope stared down at the floor and shook her head, sighing heavily. She stared over at him with a slightly peeved look, not towards him of course and shook her head.

"Janine..." Hope dragged out in an exasperated voice. She rubbed her eyes and leaned her head back against the couch. Egon looked back at her again and slowly set the clipboard down by a computer. He clicked the pen he held and then slid it into his lab coat.

"What happened?" He asked as he sat beside her on the couch. Hope gave a small laugh and closed her eyes, trying to relax.

"You know she really likes you." She commented as she tried not to gag on the words. She felt Egon shift slightly and turned her head to look at him. She knitted her eyebrows together, "Why won't you ask her out?"

"She's too..." Egon let the sentence float off, not being able to really put a word to how Janine had been acting towards him. Hope laughed and closed her eyes again.

"I told her not to be so barefaced and she went off on me." Hope admitted as she leaned her head back against the couch and lifted her arms above her head, stretching like a cat, and yawned. She opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling a moment and then looked to Egon, "I am so sorry."

"What for?" Egon asked as he leaned back against the couch. Hope gave a small laugh and closed her eyes.

"I think Janine's on a mission to get you now." Hope gave another small laugh and sighed, feeling herself relax into the couch.

"I think that's just her nature." Egon commented as a pair of footsteps came into the room. Ray appeared in front of the two.

"Did I interrupt anything?" Ray asked looking from Egon to his sister. Hope only stared back at him and then closed her eyes, leaning back. "Don't fall asleep, Hope."

"Ugh, why not?" She groaned as she sat up straight again. She looked over at Ray as Egon eyes peered at him over the rims of his glasses. Ray quickly stole glances from the two, a bright grin on his face.

"We have our first customer!" He laughed excitedly. Hope looked over at Egon and gave him a small smile.

"Well," She began, looking back at Ray, "Bring them in."

"I'll be right back." Ray rushed out of the room, leaving Hope and Egon alone again. Hope looked over at Egon and placed a hand on his shoulder, earning his attention.

"Beware of the red haired lilith that lurks out at the secretary desk." Hope nodded her head once at him and let her hand fall, standing up from the couch, "She's a maneater."

"I think I'll survive." Egon gave her a small smirk and stood up, walking back over to the machines. Hope gave a small laugh and walked from the room to see where Ray was with the customer.


	8. Chapter 8: Girlfriends

Alright, I have to ask. How many people are wondering what the hell Hope Stantz looks like?

I will post her discription if people want it otherwise read and put the pieces together.

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

Ray and Hope had led their customer, Dana Barrett, into the back room where Egon was. Hope sat on the couch beside Ray while Egon hooked Dana up to a machine. Peter sat in a chair off to the side watching as Dana explained her story.

"I went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and this voice said, 'Zuul'...and then I slammed the refrigerator door and I left." Dana Barrett explained of her paranormal experience, "That was two days ago."

"Usually you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance." Peter spoke out, not being able to take his eyes off of the poor woman. Hope looked over at him and threw the paperback book she had carried in at his head. She mouthed for him to knock it off and looked back a the woman, sitting uncomfortably.

", what do you suppose it was?" Hope asked, trying to be professional.

"Well, if **I **knew what it was I _wouldn't_ be here." Ms. Barret somewhat snapped, slightly annoyed at being prodded for information. She looked from one person to the next, waiting for an answer on her situation. Hope scratched the back of her neck and leaned back against the couch.

"Egon?" Peter looked over at Egon who knelt in front of Ms. Barrett.

"She's telling the truth." Egon announced as he looked over at Peter and Hope, blinding them by the light he wore on his head, "At least she thinks she is."

"Of course I am. Who would make up a story like that?" Ms. Barrett looked between the others, confused as to why they would think she were lying.

"Some are people who are looking for attention. Others," Peter started as he leaned over in his chair. Hope, "are just nut-balls who come in off the street."

"Anyone have an idea what it could be?" Hope questioned the rest as she pulled her right knee into her chest. She looked over at Ray and then at Egon, having no idea herself what it was.

"Well, it could be a past life experience intruding on present time." Ray gave as he offered his soda to Hope. She took it and took a quick sip, handing it back to him.

"It could also be an erased memory stored in the collective unconscious." Egon suggested as he walked over to the couch.

"What?" Hope asked, looking at Egon for an explanation. He sat down on the other side of her, eating cheese-its.

"Sleep walking basically. She does something while her unconscious self is awake and after it gets erased it stored in the brains memory bank." Egon finished while the others looked between Hope and him.

"Thanks for that wonderful lesson Egghead." Peter scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't rule out clairvoyance or telepathic contact either." Egon ignored Peter's comment and suggested another idea for Dana Barrett.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe in any of that." Ms. Barrett gave a shaky laugh and looked between them all. Hope took a cheese-it from Egon, stuffing it in her mouth and looked over at the poor woman.

"I don't either, Ms. Barrett." Hope smiled at her and took another cheese-it, popping it into her mouth and grinning at Egon.

"Neither do I." Peter started as he moved towards the customer, "But there are some things we do; standard procedures, in a case like this."

Peter looked over at the three sitting on the couch, waiting for them to come up with a suggestion. Hope gave a small shrug and looked at Egon and Ray.

"Well," Ray began and looked over at Hope and Egon, trying to think of an idea, "I can go to the hall of records to get the structural details on the building. Hey, maybe the building itself has a history of psychic phenomenons."

"I can look for the name Zuul in the usual literature." Egon suggested as he looked between Ray and Hope.

"Space catalog." Ray and Hope spoke at the same time, each giving the other a sarcastic glare.

"Good. Tell you what," Peter started as he walked behind the chair Ms. Barrett sat in and onto her left side, "I'll take Ms. Barrett back to her apartment and check her out."

Hope let her head fall onto Egon's shoulder and let out a soft growl of annoyance. She felt Ray laugh slightly on her opposite side and patted her back. Peter suddenly caught his mistake and shut his eyes tightly for a quick moment before looking back at Ms. Barrett.

"I'll go and check out Ms. Barrett's apartment." He corrected, giving the woman a smile, "Alright?"

"...okay." Ms. Barrett nodded her head unsure if that was a good idea. Peter and Ms. Barrett slowly walked out of the room, heading to her place to examine it. Hope picked her head up from Egon's shoulder and leaned it back against the couch.

"Why are you friends with Peter again?" She asked as she stared at the ceiling, trying to understand why she was friends with him.

"He's a good guy Hope. He just...doesn't like seriousness." Hope's eyes immediately went to Ray and then she looked to Egon. A skeptical look in her eyes.

"Why are you friends with my brother?" She smiled at Egon, giving a small laugh. Egon gave a small laugh of his own and offered her more cheese-its as in agreement with her. Hope laughed again and took a few, laying her head back against the couch again.

"Alright, well I'm going to the hall of records. See what I can find." Ray got up from the couch and threw out his soda. He walked back to the couch and stood in front of Hope.

"Yes Raymond?" Hope asked, already knowing what he was going to say. Ray grabbed her arms and pulled her off the couch lamely.

"You're coming with me." He laughed and dragged her behind him. Hope looked back at Egon, waving her other hand at him.

"Help me Egon! Save me!" Hope pretended to cry and allowed herself to be dragged out of the room. They drove the Ghostbuster mobile to the hall of records, getting looks from everyone they passed.

"So what are we looking for here?" Hope asked as they climbed the stairs and walked into the hall.

"You go find the space catalog while I get the plans for 's apartment building." Ray gave a small laugh as he veered off in another direction. Hope looked at the bookcases and file cabinets, not sure where to start.

"Wonderful." She whispered to herself as she began in one direction, thinking that anywhere would be a start for her. She stumbled through bookcase after bookcase and finally found the space catalogs. Not knowing which Ray wanted, she plucked every one that dated from the 1000s to the present.

"Thought I lost you." Ray laughed as he sat down at the table beside her, books and rolls of papers in his arms sliding onto it. Hope gave a small nod as she continued to look through the catalog she was on. Ray looked at her a moment and then pulled a book from his stack.

"What was Egon going to be doing?" Hope asked after an hour of reading. Ray looked up from the book he was now on and at her. He narrowed his eyes slightly, finding the question strange.

"Fixing the computers in the lab I think." He started and watched as she nodded her head slowly, "Why?"

"No reason." She retorted and opened up a new space catalog. She leaned on her left hand, her blonde hair falling into her face, not really reading what was down on the page. The air fell silent between them again as each of them read over their materials, "Do you think he's going to ask Janine out?"

"What?" Ray asked suddenly, unsure if he had heard right. Hope looked up as though someone had called her name and stared back at him with big ocean blue eyes.

"She's smart and she's pretty. A lot of guys like brunettes, especially with hazel eyes. Both are good. Egon's really smart, so...It seems right that they would be together." Hope explained, scratching her nose. Ray stared at her for a moment, trying to come up with a reason why she would want to know something like that.

"Do you..." Ray began as a smirk appeared on his lips as he stared at his little sister, "Do you like Egon?"

"What? No." Hope replied quickly, trying to act shocked and disturbed by the assumption. She sat up straighter, flipping her hair back, "No, I was just curious cause Janine's always hitting on him and he said he like girls with light hair and she's smart and such."

Ray watched her a moment longer. He saw right through her act and she knew it. She licked her lips and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Yeah they have _some _things in common, but Egon **really **doesn't like her. So I don't think he will ask her out." He answered finally, trying to make Hope feel better. Which of course went against her first rule.

_Rule number 1: Tell the truth no matter how bad it hurts._

"Oh...Why doesn't he like her?" Hope implored further. Ray shut the book he had been reading and looked back across the table at her.

"Janine's real needy like and impatient." He started thinking about his longtime friend, "Actually...He always liked girls that could hold a decent conversation, but not be as smart as him."

"These girls are...?" Hope asked rearranging herself on her seat as she picked at the pink nail polish on her nails.

"I don't know if Egon really had a girlfriend. Ever." Ray admitted.

"You're lying. Come on, who were they?"

"I honestly don't think he's had one Hope." Ray thought back, trying to recall any girlfriend Egon might have had, "No, I don't remember him ever having a girlfriend. He tried asking one out once, but that was it."

"The girl said no?" Hope asked, completely surprised.

"Wouldn't you?" Ray returned, "Usually the only girls that like Egon have an IQ of 150 or higher. He doesn't like them."

"Wow...I didn't know that." Hope spoke up thinking about it for a moment. Egon never had a girlfriend and the only girl he ever asked out turned him down? That sent a pain through her, making her regret ever bringing up the subject, "Don't tell him about this. About me asking all these questions. Okay?"

"Yeah. Blood's thicker then water right?" Ray replied with a small smile. He began reading through his book again while Hope stared down at the space catalog in a fog. She thought about Janine for a moment and then looked down at herself.

"Skinny or fat?" She asked suddenly, looking back at Ray again.

"Skinny or fat what?"

"Does he like skinny or fat girls?" Hope elaborated, leaning against the table. Ray stared at her and shook his head, wanting to tell her to ask him that, but refrained.

"First off, **you're** not the fat one in the family. Secondly, I have no idea which he likes. My guess is rail thin like himself. Alright?" Ray finished and picked up his book again. Hope wanted to speak up again, but bit her tongue. She looked back down at herself and place a hand on her belly, wondering how much more weight she needed to loose.

"Screw it!" She huffed and stood up from the table, "He can have her...!"

Hope turned form the table and walked away, straight and proud of herself. Hell, she'd be damned if she had to loose weight just to get a guy.

_Rule number two: You're beautiful the way you look, but only change if it's for yourself. Never for anyone else._

Ray watched her gracefully leave and sat by himself wondering what had just happened.


	9. Chapter 9: Sedgewick Hotel

Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been trying to help my buddies get a superbowl (that's what it's called right?) party together. First superbowl ever for me! So excited!

**

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**

**{~Stay Puft~}**

After the Hall of Records Hope had found her way back to Ghostbusters Headquarters. Ray returned a little while after her, finding out what Zuul was and also finding Dana's apartment blueprints. They all sat at the small table in the bedroom where the fire pole was and were eating dinner which just happened to be Hope's favorite meal...not.

"To our first customer." Peter raised his can of soda to the rest of the Ghostbusters. Hope shook her head and stared down at her Chinese food, pushing the mushy noodles left and right on her paper plate. She looked to her right at Egon and then to her left at Ray, not wanting to eat the Asian cuisine.

"To our _only_ customer." Ray spoke more melancholy as he raised his own soda.

"I need some petty cash. Need to take her out to dinner. We don't want to loose her." Peter set down his fork and let his hands sit on his thighs. Hope scoffed and took a small bite of her noodles, trying not to gag at the taste.

"This is the last of the 'petty' cash, Pete." She looked over at him and scoffed again, shaking her head. Egon took a quick glance at her and sat quietly eating his food. Hope looked at him from the corner of her eyes, wondering why he was acting so strange around her suddenly.

"She's right. This magnificent feast before us is the last of the cash." Ray looked back down at his food and played with it a moment before taking a large amount into his mouth.

"Slow down." Peter placed a hand on Ray's shoulder, "Chew your food Raymond."

Hope pushed her plate away from her and leaned back in the chair, done trying to force herself to eat it. Egon and Ray both looked at each other and then at her, wondering what was wrong with her or more importantly to them the food.

"What's wrong?" Ray asked quietly as he looked from her plate to her, "You barley ate anything. You're not still on the whole 'weight' thing are you?"

"No!" Hope snapped and then ran a hand through her blonde hair, slightly irritated that he would think she would starve herself to loose weight, "I just wasn't really that hungry. Besides, I hate Chinese food. I told you that."

"No you didn't, but I'll remember it." Ray gave a small laugh and ate some more, pulling some food off of Hope's plate. Hope gave a laugh, remembering who she **had **told, and looked over at Egon with a small smirk.

"I told _you _I didn't like Chinese food." She smiled, waging a finger at him. Egon gave a small nod and looked back down at his plate. Hope stared at him a moment not liking the way that he was acting, "What is wrong with you?"

Egon as well as the other two looked at her, unsure of what _was_ wrong. Hope stared at Egon, her eyes demanding an answer from him.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Egon replied finally after meeting her blazing stare.

"You've been giving me the cold shoulder all day." Hope explained as Ray and Peter looked at each other, "I'm sick of it! What did I do? Is it because I didn't answer your question this morning? Or is it because I asked about Janine? What!?"

"I thought **you** didn't want to talk _me_." Egon retorted softly as it became clear to him that, unlike what he thought, she wasn't mad at him for the question he had bombarded her with earlier.

"What?" Hope asked, feeling kind of like an idiot as her voice and expression softened.

"When I asked about your family and you didn't answer. I thought I had upset you." Egon replied, staring back at her. Peter and Ray both looked at each other again, neither understanding what was going on between the two. Hope shook her head at Egon, a small laugh in her throat.

"I was upset, but not at you." Hope smiled, feeling a little better, "Actually I-"

"**WE GOT ONE!**" Janine's voice rang throughout the building and suddenly the alarm rang out with her. Hope shot up from her chair and looked over at Ray with excitement glistening in her eyes. The boys looked from her and then at each other, none of them really reacting.

Quickly each one of them ran to the fire pole and slid down. They changed into their uniforms with little name tags and were in the car within moments, driving towards the Sedgewick Hotel where a report of a nasty little green ghost had come from.

They had arrived at the hotel quickly and pulled on their proton packs, planning on using their new gear for their first real field work. Hope and the boys walked through the front doors of the building receiving looks from everyone they passed.

"They're staring at us." Hope sang as she smiled to the people she walked by. Egon looked down at her and leaned closer to her.

"They're staring at **you **wondering why you're with us science geeks." He whispered in her ear with a smile as the owner of the hotel stopped them in the middle of the entrance hall before Hope could respond back to Egon's words.

"Hello, you're the Ghostbusters?" He asked, looking them all over from head to foot. Hope didn't like the man. He was short with graying hair and wearing a tuxedo. He reeked of high class snob.

"We are." Peter replied, standing straighter top put on a face. The owner gave a small nervous laugh and clapped his hands together.

"Good. The guests have already started asking questions and I'm running out of excuses." The owner breathed out, most of it Hope didn't catch. She looked up at Egon her face scrunched up and mouth agape.

"What did he say? I don't speak snob." She asked whiled Ray asked question to the owner. Egon gave a shrug and soon Hope's attention was back on the small, fast speaking man.

"Well most of the staff knows about the twelfth floor." The owner explained, fidgeting wildly with his hands.

"What about the twelfth floor?" Hope piped up and stopped walking, staring at the man in question.

"There's always been...disturbances of sorts. But it's been quiet up until two weeks ago."

"Uh huh." Peter commented and began leading them all towards the elevators.

"Did you ever report it to anyone?" Egon asked, looking behind Hope and Ray to look at the owner.

"Oh heavens no! We're not even supposed to talk about it." The man explained as they all stopped walking once more, "I hope we can take care of this quietly."

"Of course." Hope put on her best fake smile and then looked away, rolling her eyes at Egon. The owner nodded and went on his way, Hope pretending to gage as he left, "I hate people like that. Think they're better then everyone else because they got money and dress sharp."

"Contain that thing Egon." Peter spoke up and walked passed them all and pressed the up arrow on the elevator.

"What _thing _are you referring to Peter?" Hope called after him as she stood with her hands on her hips.

"Why the wicked witch of the west of course! Don't think I didn't see the broomstick and the worts when you flew in from Oz the other night! Maybe you should try some wort cream because the one on your nose is getting pretty bad!" Peter called back with a smirk, making Hope fume though she knew that he was being stupid. Ray patted her on the back and walked up beside Peter while Egon stood beside her, not knowing whether or not to follow or stay.

"I think you're the furthest thing from a witch and you don't have worts." Egon spoke up, unsure if that was a good thing to say or not. Hope looked up at him, her face content with his genuine attempt.

"Thanks. Let's go before my evil twin arrives because of Peter's stupidity." Hope laced her right arm with Egon's left and walked them both to the other two, standing before the elevators and trying to keep distance from Peter.

"What are you? Some kind of cosmonaut?" Hope laughed at the question the older man asked from beside them. She looked up at Egon and rolled her eyes again with a smile finding their suits to be a little strange as well. She let go of his arm and watched the dial on the wall before them go from 20 to 19 to 18 as the elevator began to descend.

"We're exterminators." Peter answered as he placed his hands on his hips, "Someone saw a cockroach up on twelve."

"That's got to be some cockroach." The man said back as he took the cigar from his mouth. Hope shook her head and looked over at Ray from where she stood beside Egon, giving him a smile.

"It'll bite your head off man." The elevator doors opened and Peter quickly walked inside followed by Egon and Hope. Ray stuck his head out of the elevator and looked at the man.

"Going up?" He asked politely to the man smiling. The man shook his head as he placed the cigar back between his lips.

"I'll take the next one." The elevator doors closed and slowly it began to rise to floor twelve. Hope leaned against the wall of the elevator behind Peter, humming to herself quietly.

"This thing is a little heavy." She complained as she adjusted the proton pack she wore on her back, finding it to be a little more then just heavy and continued to hum 'Dead Man's Party' by Oingo Boingo.

"Sorry you're not able to keep up with the big boys, Princess." Peter called from in front of her, causing her to fume again. She scoffed, raising her right hand to smack him in the back of the head.

"I oughtta..." She whispered, but let her hand fall to her side and continued to hum.

"You know it's just occurred to me..." Ray began as he fidgeted slightly, "We haven't had a chance to test this equipment."

Hope's humming quieted as she stared at her brother in shock at the news. She looked over at Egon and then back at Ray's back.

"I blame myself." Egon commented as he watched the number of floors they had passed go up. Hope looked over at him again, about to say something.

"I do too." Peter's comment peeved Hope and suddenly her hand collided with the back of his head in a sharp smack. She huffed and shook her own head at him, crossing her arms.

"For once can you not act like a jackass Peter?" She scowled as she let her arms drop to her sides, "It's no one's fault."

"For once can you not act like you're so high and mighty? Princess?" Peter asked sarcastically as he shook off the smack to his head.

"Maybe I could if you weren't such a..." She trailed off, pissed with Peter.

"Ignore him." Egon gave her a slight nudge making her smile, though she really didn't want to.

"So about these packs we're wearing." Hope brought up the subject again, wanting to know why the packs weren't tested.

"There's no sense in worrying about it now. It should be fine." Ray commented as he stared straight at the doors to the elevator.

"No, why worry? Each one of us is wearing an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on their back." Peter's voice was skeptic, earning a fearful look from Hope. She looked over at Egon, her face dropping into a cynical stare. Egon looked at her from the corner of his eyes, not wanting to fully face her for fear of what she would say to him or more of the fire he would see in her eyes.

"Yup. Let's get ready." Ray kept his eyes glued to the doors, "Switch me on."

Egon moved to Ray's pack and switched several buttons on. A vibrating noise of sorts filled the elevator, causing each of them to become nervous. Hope swallowed hard as she squished herself against the wall as much as she could.

Egon took several steps back, pushing Peter towards the front of the elevator, and covered Hope with himself. He placed his hands above her head and closed his eyes. Hope gave a laugh and leaned her head back against the elevator wall.

"You can be so dramatic." She spoke softly so Ray and Peter wouldn't hear. Egon opened his eyes and stared at her through his glasses, his brown eyes catching her own.

Hope felt the smile on her face fall and felt butterflies flap around in her belly for the first time since she had met him. Her breathing became deep and concentrated as she struggled with removing her eyes from Egon's. She felt tingles in her hands as she became nervous with the situation she was in.

The elevator became silent as they all waited for the 'ding' signaling they were at their floor...or for the proton pack on Ray's back to spontaneously explode, killing them all in a horrible and terrible death. Whichever came first.

_**DING**_

The elevator doors opened and Hope quickly rushed out of the elevator, swallowing hard and trying to calm the blood that had come to her cheeks. Ray stepped out behind her followed by Peter and lastly Egon.

They moved down the hallway slowly, Ray and Egon on high alert while Hope and Peter walked casually. Hope looked everywhere but at Egon, trying to figure out why she had suddenly gotten butterflies like a schoolgirl

A noise came from behind them and as they turned around Ray and Egon shot off their proton packs. A shrill scream surfaced from down the hall they were shooting in and Hope spotted a person hit the floor.

"Stop! Turn them off!" Hope called out when she spotted the maids cart in the hall that they were shooting at. She flipped the switch on Ray's wand off and stared down the hall at the damage.

"Successful test." Peter commented while the maid stood up from the floor, collecting her fried items from the cart.

"Sorry!" Hope called down at her as she quickly hurried from the hall.

"Alright, Hope you're with Egon. Peter and I will split up down that way." Ray directed as Peter nodded his head.

"Yeah we can do more damage that way." Peter breathed out sarcastically as Hope looked at Egon quickly, catching his glance. She then looked at Ray, not wanting to be alone with Egon at the moment.

"Uh, h-how about I go with you?" She suggested, as she moved closer to her brother, "It'll be a little sibling bonding time. Alright? Let's go. Now."

She began walking down the hall Ray was heading towards as the boys stared at each other. Ray gave a shrug and walked after her, catching up easily.


	10. Chapter 10: Capture

**{~Stay Puft~}**

Hope followed closely behind Ray, scanning the halls they passed. She had no clue what they were supposed to be looking for and she doubted Ray did either. She watched him as he moved passed her, his wand out and ready as though he expected to be attacked at any moment.

"What exactly are we looking for?" She asked, still a nonbeliever of the paranormal and highly doubting that there was anything on the twelfth floor at all.

"Some kind of specter. The hotel manager said it was green or something." Ray took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up, taking a long drag from it. Hope stared at him for a long moment, her face twisted in disgust.

"Ray, I really wish you wouldn't smoke." Hope said thoughtfully as she watched him take another drag. She could almost hear his lungs screaming for the torture to end as he let out a puff of smoke.

"Sorry, but old habits die hard." Ray took another drag from it and gripped his 'wand' end of the proton pack tighter. Hope shook her head and walked up to him, snatching the cigarette from his lips. She raised it in front of him and then threw it to the ground, stomping it out. Ray's eyes suddenly widened at her like she had just killed his pet rabbit as he looked from the crushed cigarette to her.

"Oh come on. You really think I wouldn't do that?" She asked, slightly annoyed by her brother's actions. She stared back at him for a moment, but his eyes never moved and he never spoke. She took her right hand and waved it in front of his face, his gaze never wavering, "Ray? You alright?"

"T-th-there...b-beh-hind you..." The words slipped from his mouth softly and Hope turned to look behind her. Hope went to scream, but Ray's hand covered her mouth and pulled her back behind the corner. Her scream was muffled by his gloved hand and soon she calmed down enough for him to let her go.

"What the hell is that thing...!?!" She hissed as she peeked around the corner to look at the green floating glob again. She leaned back against the wall and shut her eyes tightly, breathing heavily and feeling slightly fearful.

"Still don't believe in the paranormal?" Ray asked, not trying to sound like a bratty brother, but curious. Hope looked at him and then took a deep breath, unsure of what she believed now.

"What do we do?" She asked carefully in a rush, not wanting to startle the 'specter', but at the same time wanted him to know she was afraid. Ray gripped the wand end of his proton pack again and looked back at her.

"I'll try and hold him." Ray moved out from behind the corner, Hope's hand gripping at his sleeve as she cursed at him not to go. He switched a button on and stared at the green glob for a moment.

Suddenly a burst of yellow and red came from the end of the proton pack and hit the wall, causing it to become lit with flames. The green glob took off down the hallway, Ray chasing after it at high speed.

"Ray! Ray!!!" Hope ran from the corner and down the hall after him. She watched as the green glob went straight into the wall at the end of the hallway. Ray stopped first, completely out of breath while Hope stopped beside him, staring at the wall the glob had gone through, "Now what?"

"We...head back...the way...we came..." Ray huffed as he began back tracking his steps through the hall. Hope followed behind him, an eyebrow arched at how out of shape he was.

"You know, you used to run track. Now look at you. It's all those damn cigarettes Ray. " Hope patted him on the shoulder and walked passed him, turning down a hall. They both continued to walk, heading back to where they had started out.

"Come in Ray." Ray stopped as the sound came from his walkie-talkie. Ray took the walkie-talkie from his side as Hope walked up beside him, listening in on the conversation.

"Venkman...! I saw it, I saw it, I saw it." Ray chimed into the walkie-talkie as he gripped it tightly like a little boy playing cops and robbers.

"He gets that you saw it." Hope chided as Ray gave her a look.

"He was right here Pete!" Ray spoke through the walkie-talkie again.

"Well it's here now, Ray." Peter's voice sounded through the walkie-talkie again, slightly uncomfortable, "It's staring at me Ray. It can hear us."

"Don't move. It won't hurt you." Ray tried to clam Peter down the best he could. Suddenly a scream surfaced through the walkie-talkie, earning a frightened look from the siblings, "Venkman!?! Venkman come in! Pete!?"

"What do we do Ray?" Hope asked as her mind played catch up to the situation. Ray shook his head as he thought for a moment and then looked back up at her.

"Hope, go find Egon. He should be down stairs." Ray began jogging off down the hallway where Peter's yells were coming from as Hope ran in the opposite direction wishing she had gone with Egon in the first place now.

She ran down the opposite hall, hoping to run into Egon at some point in the labyrinth. Her heart raced and she felt worry prickling at her. She ran to the stairs and headed down them, skipping as many as she could without hurting herself.

Egon stood in the main hall using a high tech device he had constructed himself as Hope burst through the stair doors. Hope spotted him and tried to run faster, feeling her lungs ache as people watched her sprinting.

"Egon! Egon!" Hope ran to him and began skidding to a stop. Egon looked up from his device at her and knitted his eyebrows together. Hope felt her feet slip and fell forward, colliding with Egon, sending them both to the ground.

Her eyes were closed and even though she knew she was on top of Egon she stayed where she was. Her lungs were burning as she took deep fast breaths while her calves were stinging with the exercise.

Egon laid on the floor, back uncomfortably pushed against the pack on his back. He looked down at Hope lying on top of him, breathing as though she had run a marathon. She was heavy, but he knew that most of the weight came from the pack she had on. He spotted the looks from the people in the main hall and felt himself grown embarrassed at how they were laying on the ground.

"What is it? What's wrong Hope?" He asked as he placed a hand on her back and stared at her a little worried and slightly nervous. Hope took several more deep breaths, lifting herself up a little to look at him with worried eyes.

"...P-Peter...i-it's Peter..." She huffed out as she began to stand up, worry on her face, "He was screaming...and Ray took off...to find him...He told me to find you."

"Okay, well..." Egon started as he pulled himself off the ground and fixed himself. Hope pushed some hairs that had fallen from the ponytail she wore behind her ear and placed her hands on her hips, "We'll stay here until-"

"There it is!" Hope yelled pointing to the green glob that floated into the main hall. Egon looked over to the ballroom doors and watched as it flew passed them into the ballroom itself. He quickly grabbed onto the walkie-talkie on his hip.

"Ray! Ray!" Egon spoke quickly into his walkie-talkie as he stared down at Hope, "Ray come in please!"

"Spengler! I'm with Venkman. He got slimed!" Ray's voice floated over the walkie. Hope gave a smile at her brother's enthusiasm and the fact that he was alright. Egon smiled at her and then looked down at the floor.

"That's great Ray. Save some slim for me." Hope spotted some people heading towards the ballroom and quickly ran over, blocking them from going in.

"I'm sorry. The ballroom is closed for the moment." Hope spoke up with a smile while Egon watched for a moment.

"Get down here right away! It just went into the ballroom." Egon re-clasped the walkie-talkie onto his hip and went to Hope.

Ray and Peter made it to the ballroom quickly where Egon and Hope were already waiting. They headed into the ballroom, carefully looking around for the specter.

"Look. It's up there..." Hope whispered as she pointed to a chandelier. The green glob danced around the ceiling as each of them carefully watched from the shadows. They each walked slowly out into the open.

"Ready?" Ray asked quietly as they all reached for their proton packs, "Throw it!"

Four streams of red and yellow lights flashed up towards the ceiling and all four of them missed, hitting the chandelier instead. The chandelier fell onto a table below, crushing it into splinters, as the glob fled.

"I did that!" Ray shouted as they all ran forward looking for the glob.

"It's okay. The table broke the fall." Peter commented as he and Ray stared at the broken table and shattered chandelier. Egon looked as though he was in a daze and then he looked to the others. Hope moved closer to him a little concerned by the look.

"What's wrong?" Hope piped up, noticing the small frightened look in his eyes.

"There's something very important I forgot to tell you." He spoke carefully as he looked from one to the other, "Don't cross the streams."

"Why? What happens if we do cross them?" Hope asked as she looked down at the part of the pack she carried in her hand.

"It would be bad." Egon responded simply. Hope looked at Peter and Ray mouthing 'bad?' to them, not fully understanding what Egon meant.

"I'm fuzzy on the whole 'Good versus Bad' thing." Peter stepped closer to Egon, "What do you mean bad?"

"Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light." Egon 's voice got louder as he explained what could happen. Hope closed her eyes and shook her head, taking a step away from him. Yeah, that would be bad and it was not something she was looking forward to.

"Yeah, that's bad. Wonderful..." Hope sat down in one of the many chairs in the room and took her hair from the pony tail. She brushed a hand through it and then scratched the top of her head.

"Important safety tip everyone! Thanks Egon." Peter scoffed and moved away while Hope redid her hair, "Ray take the left. Egon, the right. Hope you're with me."

"Oh joy..." Hope stood up from the chair and stepped beside Peter, each of them holding their proton pack wands tightly. They all moved towards the green glob at the back of the ballroom, stuffing its ghostly face with food.

"Ray!" Peter called as a flash of yellow and red soared across the room. The green glob quickly fled to the right, "Egon!"

Egon lost control of his proton pack when the green glob hid in the bar to the right of the ballroom. Hope looked over at Egon, waiting for him to stop his stream.

"Egon! Stop!" Hope called out as she rushed over to him. She quickly flipped a switch on the pack, turning the power off as the stream died down.

"Whoa, nice shootin' Tex." Peter joked as he watched the green glob flee. Hope scowled at Peter and looked up at Egon with a small smile.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently through a nervous laugh. Egon nodded his head vigorously, still in shock. Hope laughed again and flipped his proton pack back on, patting him on the arm, "Okay then."

"I need some room to put the trap down. Give me some room." Ray called out as Peter, Hope, and Egon went to work at pushing tables out of the way. Ray threw the trap into the middle of the room, right underneath the glob, "On my go. Spengler I want a confinement stream from you. Go!"

Egon let his proton pack go, confining the glob in a swirl of yellow, blue, and red. Peter was next, his proton pack getting the left side.

"Hope, go!" Ray called out as Hope switched on her proton pack and a stream of light soared up to the glob, "Start bringing him down. Slowly!"

Each one of them carefully brought the glob down slowly, shortening their streams so no one else got hurt. Hope looked at Ray and then at Egon, unsure of what to do next.

"I'm opening the trap! Don't look directly into it!" Ray called out. Hope shut her eyes tightly and turned her head away as the sound of the trap opening came softly to her ears, "Turn your streams off as soon as I close the trap. Ready? NOW!"

Each of them quickly shut off their streams and turned their backs to the trap as soaring lights emitted from it. Hope's eyes shut tighter until she heard the trap door shut completely.

Slowly she looked back and down at the trap on the floor. A red button flipped on and off rapidly, signaling that they had caught the specter. They all took a step closer, Egon walking all the way to the trap and kneeling beside it.

"It's in there." Egon spoke disbelievingly as he looked up at the others who had gathered around the trap. Hope stared down at the box Egon held and then at him with uncertainty.

"We did it?" Hope asked, the same tone Egon had slipping through. Ray smiled at her and nodded his head.

"That wasn't such a chore, now was it?" He asked no one in particular. Hope smiled at him and then at Peter and Egon.

"We did it!" She laughed and switched off her proton pack. The others smiled and did the same. Ray picked up the trap, which had begun to smoke, and walked towards the ballroom doors.

"We came, we saw, we kicked its ASS!" Peter called out as he burst through the doors, the others following behind him. The owner stood in front of them, thoroughly shocked that they had actually caught their twelfth floor specter.

"You saw it? What was it?" He asked as he looked between them all in search of the ghost. Ray walked out further, showing the entire hotel the smoking trap in his hands. Hope stood beside Egon with a bright grin on her rosy lips while her hair that had been in her redone ponytail was now disheveled.

"Let's talk seriously." Peter pulled out a pad of payment slips and a pen, "Now for the entrapment we're going to have to ask you for four thousand dollars for that."

Hope gave a small giggle as she watched Egon secretly give Peter the amounts via his fingers under his chin with a small smirk.

"But! We're doing a special this week on proton charging and storing of the beast and that's only going to come to one thousand dollars." Peter finished writing it down. Hope looked over at the owner who looked like he was about to pass out from the amount.

"Five thousand dollars. I had no idea it would be so much. I won't pay it." He rose his nose to the group and stared at Peter. Hope looked back at the owner, really hating the guy.

"Well...we could just as easily put it back. Go on Ray." Hope smiled at the owner sickeningly sweet as Ray began walking back into the room with the trap.

"No!" The owner grabbed on to Ray's arm, pulling him back out of the room, "Alright. Anything."

"Thank you so much for your business." Hope smiled again and took Egon's arm with her own, walking behind Ray, Peter, and the trap. They all climbed into the car after removing their packs and securing the trap in the back. Hope sat behind Ray, who was in the driver's seat, while Peter sat in the passengers and Egon across from her in the back.

She leaned her head back against the seat, feeling exhausted from the 'chore'. Slowly her mind drifted away and she was pulled into her dreams.


	11. Chapter 11: Twinkies

**{~Stay Puft~}**

Hope awoke the next morning, lying in her bed back at Headquarters. She sat up slowly and yawned, stretching like a cat as she looked around the room. She smiled softly to herself, remembering the night before and the first ghost capture they had accomplished.

"You're up!" Ray smiled as he walked into the room. Hope gave a shrug and pulled herself out of the bed. She stared down at herself and saw the G.B. uniform still on her. Her eyebrows knitted together at the question that popped into her mind.

"Who carried me?" She asked as she scratched her left shoulder and yawned.

"I think it was Peter." Ray walked over to the small cabinets and began his search for something. Hope scrunched her face up at the thought of Peter being that nice and carrying her in. She pushed it to the back of her head and looked around the room for a clock.

"What time is it?" She asked as Ray looked down at his wrist and read the little time keeper there.

"Almost noon. Thought you were gonna sleep the whole day." Ray answered while Hope nodded her head and walked towards the window by the fire pole, looking out at the people below. After she was content and finally completely awake she moved from the window and into the bathroom with some clothes to take her shower.

She emerged from the bathroom with her dirty clothes and now wearing a jean skirt, pink tee, and white converses. She dumped her clothes into the laundry basket marked with her name and walked out of the room. She looked in the rooms she passed, searching for the one person in the world that she didn't want to thank.

"Hey thanks Peter for last night." Hope called out to him, sucking up her pride, as she walked down into the garage where Peter sat at his desk, feet up and pencil in his mouth.

"What are you talking about Princess?" Peter asked, faining innocence as Hope walked back towards his desk. She narrowed her eyes and slowed her step, pointing a finger at him as she became less confident.

"Carrying me in...?" She sort of asked, now unsure if Ray was right.

"Oh carrying you to bed." Peter gave a small smile and nodded his head, removing his feet from his desk, "That was Egghead. He's in the basement."

Hope opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself. She shut her mouth tightly and wagged her finger as she thought. She turned from Peter and walked towards the stairs that led to the basement or as the others called it 'the storage facility'.

Hope looked over the railing of the stairs and spotted Egon standing in front of the storage container. She hit the bottom of the stairs and put her hands into her pockets, looking around the small stone room.

"Good afternoon." She sang out and smiled brightly as Egon looked at her from over his shoulder, "What are you up to?"

"Storing the entity." Egon responded and moved to the desk to his left. Hope moved closer to the container against the wall and watched as Egon picked up the trap that laid on the desk top.

"How does this thing work?" She asked as she looked back at the container and gave it a small tap. Egon walked over to her and the container, holding the trap in his hands. He looked at her and then the container, an idea in his head.

"Here." He handed her the trap and took a step back so she could move in front of it. She held the trap in both her hands and stared at the container awaiting his instructions, "Turn the latch to the right."

Hope did as she was told. She felt the little hatch open and pan out into a sort of shelf for the trap. She looked at the shelf, unsure about what to do now.

"Do I just slip it in the thing?" She asked as she looked over to where he had taken her spot against the wall. He gave a small nod and crossed his arms over his sweater vested chest. Hope slowly slipped the trap into the shelf until it could go no further, "Now what?"

"Close it and turn the latch to the left." Egon explained and watched as Hope did so. She closed the hatch back up and began to re-latch it, finding it to hit something when it got close to locking.

"I think it's stuck." She spoke and looked over at Egon with a sheepish look. She moved out of the way and let Egon take her place. He took hold of the latch and turned it to the left, locking the container. Hope gave an 'of course' look at him and shook her head.

"Thanks muscles." She laughed and walked over to the desk. She sat on the corner of it and crossed her legs, looking over to the power grid by the stairs. She pulled her hair onto her left shoulder, feeling the cool air hit her neck.

Egon walked around her and sat in the desk chair, looking down at some papers littering the desk top.

"Were you scared last night?" Hope asked suddenly as she looked over at the container, remembering the night before. She turned back to Egon awaiting his reply.

"Yes." Egon answered honestly as he peered at her through his glasses.

"Me too." Hope gave a small smile and turned away from him again. He took the opportunity to open one of the bottom drawers of the desk. He pulled out a Twinkie and unwrapped it, taking a bite of it as Hope looked over at him again. She watched him as a smile crossed her lips.

"I can't believe you eat those. They're so fattening." She commented and watched him take another bite. He looked at her over the top of his glasses, "Got another?"

Egon reached back into the drawer again and pulled out another yellow sponge, handing it to her. She took it and unwrapped it, taking a small bite. She had to admit she had a bit of a sweet tooth and a Twinkie always seemed to satisfy it.

The two sat silently for a few moments content with each others presence. Hope crumpled the wrapper in her hands and laid them in her lap, looking around the room again.

"I probably shouldn't eat these things. Takes up my whole days worth of calories." She gave a small laugh and looked over at Egon. He watched her a moment and then leaned back in the chair.

"A healthy calorie intake is 2,000." Egon commented as Hope gave another small laugh at Egon's scientific mind.

"Yeah if you're not on a diet. I only have 1,200 a day and this probably took up like 600." She smiled and tossed the wrapper at the waste basket behind Egon. It missed, causing her to scoff in good humor. She looked back at Egon and saw he was staring at her. He looked her over, seeming to be lost in his thoughts. Hope looked left and right, unsure of what he was doing or what she should do, "What is it?"

"You're about five-eight and a hundred and thirty pounds?" Egon asked finally after taking another look at her. Hope stared at him blankly, thinking over the question.

"A hundred and forty-six pounds." She corrected, wondering why he needed to know.

"You're at a normal weight for your height." Egon stood from his seat and picked up her wrapper on the ground, throwing hers and his away. He then walked around to the container that begun beeping. Hope followed him with her eyes and shook her head.

"Okay...?" She spoke up and stood from the desk confused by where the conversation had gone. Egon removed the trap from the container and closed it back up.

"You don't need to loose weight." Egon walked over to where several other traps were set on a shelf and placed the one he carried beside them. He turned around and stared at her, noticing her graceful curves and slightly muscled legs, "Actually, you're a little small for your height."

Hope crossed her arms over her waist, feeling a little uncomfortable at being 'analyzed'. She stared at Egon and bounced from foot to foot.

"You think I'm..." She began, trying to think of how to phrase her question, "...too skinny?"

"No, but you should put on five or seven pounds. Preferably muscle though fat wouldn't make a big difference either." Egon answered honestly and moved to the power grid. Hope stared at him with her mouth slightly agape. Never before had anyone told her to **gain **weight as opposed to loose it. Especially a guy.

She moved towards Egon and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her front close to his back in a tight embrace. Egon stiffened at the sudden intimate contact and at the feel of her breasts against his back. He swallowed hard as he tried to get the gears moving in his head again.

"You are one of a kind Egon Spengler." Hope smiled, letting her arms fall from him. Egon turned around and looked at her confused by what she meant. Hope gave a small laugh, realizing he didn't know that telling her to gain weight actually meant something good, "Thank you for not telling me I was overweight."

"You're not." Egon answered, finally realizing what had happened. Hope bit her bottom lip and nodded her head.

"I believe you because you're so honest and I thank you for that too." She smiled and walked to the stairs. She began to climb as she remembered why she had gone down to the basement in the first place. She turned back around and looked down the stairs at him. She thought about hugging him again and then slowly walked back down the stairs.

"Forget something?" Egon asked as he looked over at her. She nodded her head and wrapped her arms around his waist again, resting her head against his shoulder. She gave him a gentle squeeze, enjoying the feeling of having someone close.

_Rule three: Always hug those you care about whenever you get the chance._

Egon's cheeks became a faint rose color as blood rushed to his face. He stared down at her completely unaware that she had known it was him. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, feeling a little nervous about the situation.

"Thanks for carrying my dead weight in last night." Hope pulled back and smiled brightly at him.

"You're welcome." He gave a small cough, trying to cover his nervousness. He gave a small nod as she began climbing the stairs again. Hope bit her bottom lip as she walked through the garage with a bright smile. She placed a hand on her belly where the butterflies were fluttering around again though this time she found them to be welcomed.


	12. Chapter 12: Dead On Your Feet

I'm so glad that you all love the new version of Stay Puft! This makes me so happy! Enjoy!

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

The alarm suddenly sounded throughout the Ghostbuster building as the Ghostbusters themselves laid asleep in their beds. Hope opened her bleary eyes and looked to the clock on her nightstand, reading two-thirty. Ray scrambled from his bed and looked over at her, seeing that she wasn't moving.

"Hope, get up!" Ray called out as he rushed over to her bed, shaking her roughly. Hope opened her eyes again and looked down at him by the foot of her bed. Ray shook her again, "We gotta go! Come on!"

"Alright, okay..." Hope moaned as she crawled out of bed and put on some clothes. She tiredly followed behind the boys to the garage where she climbed into her uniform. They all then hopped into the car and were off down the street, each of them tired and Hope and Peter sleeping in the backseat.

_Business for the Ghostbusters had taken off like a rocket since the Sedgwick. They got news coverage from several different TV stations, each of them sending out reporters to get live feed of them capturing ghosts._

The alarms sounded again through the building, waking each of the Ghostbusters from a dead sleep. Hope opened her tired eyes and took a deep breath, trying to wake herself up.

"Up, up, up!" Ray yelled as he pulled on his shirt as he looked to the clock on Hope's nightstand; 3:45. He moved to Hope and shook her roughly, pulling the covers down a bit.

"Okay...! I'm up!" Hope called and picked herself up out of the bed. She yawned and stretched a little before standing up while the others raced around to dress. She didn't bother to make her bed and pulled on her clothes before the boys had finished with theirs. She followed behind the boys like she had done every night and morning that week, heading to the car and setting off.

_Radio stations had begun talking about them, good and also bad things. People were still critics after all, but the Ghostbusters seemed to be winning the hearts of every New Yorker._

**RING RING RING**

The alarms went off as the red light circled the room. Ray shot up out of his bed and looked around, startled by the sound and flashes.

"Hopie, come on!" Ray shouted as he fell out of his bed, "We gotta go now!"

"For the love of all things good go without me...!" Hope groaned as she waved them off, completely exhausted. She pulled the covers over her head and tried to go back to sleep while the alarm was still buzzing and the boys were hurrying to get dressed. She felt someone pulled the covers off her bed, making her groan again in detest.

"Get up Princess!" Peter called out as he walked away, covers dragging behind him. Hope lazily got up and followed behind the boys out the door, not bothering to get changed. They headed down to the car and then down the street, the car siren blazing.

_The Ghostbusters were on the covers of magazines while articles were being written on them constantly. They got questioned everywhere they went on the work they did as reporters and journalists followed them to their assignments, eagerly awaiting them to answer their inquiries._

"Hope! Up! Get up!" Ray called as he pulled on his pants, hopping up and down in the process. Hope groaned and placed her pillow over her head as she screamed out, sheets up to her neck.

"Up!" Ray and Peter rushed over to her bed and grabbed a hold of one leg each, pulling her out the foot of the bed. Hope got up from the floor and looked to the clock; 1:23. She groaned, threw on some clothes, and followed out the door behind the boys.

_People stopped them on the streets, wanting pictures and autographs after they had finished up an assignment. They had also gotten several visits from EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, and even a visit from the EPA director; Walter Peck._

The alarm screeched out through the silence of the Ghostbuster building. The boys crawled out of their beds and hurried the best they could to get dressed.

"HOPE! GET UP!" Ray and Peter called out as the alarm continued to ring throughout the building.

"NO!" Hope screamed from under her pillow, holding it tightly against her head. She slipped her hands beneath it and held on to the rungs of the backboard as Peter and Ray tried pulling her out again. Hope was lifted two inches off the bed as Peter and Ray tried to pull her from her bed, "Let me sleep!"

Peter motioned for Egon to come over and help them as they let her legs go. They stood on the side of her bed and placed their hands beneath her mattress.

"One, two, three!" Peter called out as they flipped Hope off her mattress and onto the hard floor. Hope scrambled up and leaned on her mattress that had been set down, glaring at the boys with hair in her face and a look that could kill.

"Come on!" Ray shouted as the boys rushed out of the room. Hope blew some hair from her face and slowly stood up, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. She followed them down to the car, uniform in hand, and climbed in.

_Each night it seemed that there was a call about a spook sighting or specter haunting and off they went, The Ghostbusters, to capture it._

The Ecto-1 parked in front of the Ghostbuster building where a brand new sign had been hung, better then the last. Egon, Ray, and Peter got out of the car while Hope literally crawled out from the backseat. She stood up wobbly and walked to the doors of the building, heading inside with half closed eyes.

"I'm so tired. I don't know how much longer I can do this." Hope complained as they all walked further into the garage, "This is worse then the dig in the Sahara desert."

"Yeah, well I gotta get some sleep. I think I'm dying." Ray spoke up as tired as his sister. The boys trailed behind Hope, feeling the same way that she did; exhausted, cranky, and fed up. They had all been run ragged with the amount of spook calls that seemed to never end.

They walked closer to Janine's desk, trudging and dragging their feet as they went. Janine stood up with the phone in her hand, pointing to a man who quickly stood up from his chair in front of her desk.

"This is Winston Zeddmore. He's here for the job." She explained and outstretched a hand to the tall African-American man that stood before her desk with a smile.

"Wonderful. You're hired." Ray spoke up for the rest of them. Hope stood beside Egon, eyes drooping as she swayed back and forth. She swayed to her right and landed on Egon's shoulder, eyes closed and feeling sleep begin to claim her.

"I'm Peter, this is Ray, Egon, and the one who seems to have fallen asleep standing up is Hope." Peter introduced them all and stared at Hope, waiting for her to say something back. When she didn't he looked back at Winston, "Scratch the _seems_ and just make it fallen asleep."

"Come help me with this." Ray spoke up through the cigar he had lit and placed in his mouth. Winston followed Ray down into the basement carrying the trap that contained yet another ghost.

Hope heard every word and even the footsteps that passed her, but she couldn't find it in her to move. This was the closest thing to decent sleep she had gotten in the last several weeks and she welcomed it. She couldn't tell if she was actually asleep or not though. It seemed like she was awake, but had no energy to move or even open her eyes.

"She really is asleep like that?" Janine's voice rang out as she stared at Hope, who leaned against Egon. Egon looked down at her and examined her carefully before nodding.

"As long as you have something to keep you upright you can sleep standing up." Egon's voice replied as Hope felt the arm she was against wrap around her upper back. She felt Egon bend down a little and then felt his other arm go around her knees as he picked her up bridal style.

Hope felt bad that Egon was carrying her yet again to her bed upstairs, but she honestly couldn't find the strength or energy to move. If he hadn't of picked her up she would have gladly slept on the hard cement floor of the garage.

Egon walked into the bedroom, careful of Hope's head when he walked through the door. He struggled a little with setting her down on her disheveled bed and had wound up falling down beside her on the small twin. His eyes closed for a second and then opened again, knowing he should get up and go to his own bed.

Hope felt him try to move again and tried to opened her eyes. She parted her lips a little, intent on saying something. She gave a large yawn, feeling herself relax into the bed.

"Sleep..." Hope whispered out, trying to tell Egon to forget his plan of moving and just doze right there. She was too tired to tell him to get in his own bed and in a way she felt this could be a thank you for helping her though she could never thank him enough for the kindness he showed her all day every day.

"I'll go to my bed." Egon replied to her tired small whisper. She knew that even though he would force himself to get to his bed that he was just too tired to move at all. Hope took a deep breath and turned herself over to face him. She opened her eyes the best she could and removed his glasses, placing them on the table beside her head. She placed her arm lazily over him, trying to keep him where he was.

"Just sleep..." She whispered as she felt herself doze off again. Egon stared down at her a minute, his eyes trying to focus on the blur of blonde and peach in front of him. Slowly he closed his eyes and both were lost to sleep together.


	13. Chapter 13: Rescue

Happy superbowl everyone!

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

"God! Just leave me alone!" Hope yelled out as she stormed away from the man she had been talking to. The man followed behind her, unwilling to let her have the last word.

"Would you just listen to me!?" The man shouted and grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"No, I'm tired of you doing this crap!" Hope shouted back, pulling her wrist from him, "It's every day! I'm done with it!"

At the back of the garage stood Ray, Peter, and Winston in the lab/living room door, peeking out at the fight. The door stood slightly ajar as their heads peeked out, not wanting to be spotted. The man standing before Hope was taller then her and had a muscular build. He was good looking with his buzzed blonde hair and tanned skin. Ray guessed that he probably played a sport since those were always the guys Hope usually ended up with.

"What do you think happened this time?" Ray asked, his face slightly twisted in pain as he watched the man get ripped a new one by his sister. He knew exactly of Hope could be when she was mad and was feeling the pain the man felt, "Maybe he doesn't like her working here?"

"Maybe he called her fat?" Peter piped up, watching the argument amused by it.

"Maybe she caught him cheating?" Winston threw in, not exactly sure whether he was enjoying the show or wanted to look away. Egon walked over to them from the stairs, not bothering to look at them. He held a folder in his hand against his side and placed his free hand into his lab coat pocket, watching Hope as she took her turn to yell at the man.

Ray, Peter, and Winston all looked to him and saw him staring towards the couple with a melancholy yet fired gaze. Egon heard each and every word the man threw at Hope and every time wanted to walk up to him and hit him, but that just wasn't who he was. He wasn't the confident and strong man who stood up to people. He was the scientist and bookworm who usually just took what came at him, no matter how bad.

"They're fighting because she wouldn't, as Peter would say, 'give it up' to him." Egon spoke up, knowing why the couple was fighting since Hope had seemed to confide in him with things she knew she couldn't trust the others with.

_Rule number four: When in doubt search the honest one out._

Ray's eyes landed on Egon in confusion and then fell back on the man fighting with Hope. He didn't understand 'give it up', but slowly the more he thought about it the more he realized what it meant. His eyes went wide for a moment at the realization and then became angry.

"What...!?" Ray suddenly scoffed as he stood up straighter and opened the door fully, "He was trying to get her to...He wanted her to...I'll kill him...!"

"Whoa there cowboy." Peter grabbed onto Ray as he had fallen into protective older brother mode. Peter patted Ray on the shoulder a few times and looked back at Hope, "Relax and let the madam work things out. Kitty's got claws and they're the sharpest in town."

The boys looked back over at the couple as they began to shout again. Hope shook her head, not wanting to be part of the conversation anymore.

"Well maybe if you would have come off your high horse of _saving yourself _none of this would have happened!" The man shouted out, earning Hope's attention again. Hope narrowed her eyes at the man before her and clenched her fist tightly, "You're such a Goddamn tease Hope and you can be such a bitch about it! It's not like it's gonna kill you to give me some!"

"Let me go...!" Ray struggled against Peter and Winston, trying to get at the man who was calling his baby sister names. Egon didn't know what happened to him, but he suddenly strode right passed the boys and up to Hope's side, his eyes suck on the man.

"I'm sorry, but I think you should leave." Egon spoke monotone while his face was stern. His eyes were hard as he stared down at the man, "Now."

Hope looked up at Egon and then back at the man in front of them. She was grateful that at least someone came to her rescue and as she crossed her arms over her chest she agreed with Egon.

"I think that would be best too." Hope agreed as the man gave a small scoff and looked back at her.

"Leave before you do or say something you'll regret." Egon spoke up again as the man gave another scoff, sizing him up.

"Who the hell is this guy?" The man gestured towards Egon as Egon just stared back, unwilling to give up. The man shook his head, his eyes narrowing at Hope as he looked her over. His face scrunched as his eyes blazed in hatred. He pushed Hope's shoulders roughly, sending her backwards and only to be caught by Egon, "I should have known you were a cheating slut!"

"Leave before I call the police." Egon spoke up, trying to push Hope behind him, feeling protective of her. Hope stood her ground and all Egon could do was leave his arm out in front of her should the man try to get to her.

"Who the hell are you!? She's my girl! I can do whatever I want!" The man yelled and shoved Egon a little this time, hard. Egon felt his right shoulder ache a little at the force the man had shoved him, but wouldn't show it, "If I want to call her out for being a little cheating whore, I can!"

"No, I don't think so." Egon replied back without missing a beat, "Now I suggest you leave before I call the police for reckless endangerment of a female."

"Come on Hope. We're leaving." The man growled and grabbed Hope's wrist harshly, pulling her behind him.

"You're hurting me." Hope spoke up as she struggled against his instant tugging.

"Come on!" The man yelled as he pulled her passed Egon's outstretched arm and towards the garage doors.

"Stop it! You're hurting me Clark!"She tried tearing his hand from her wrist where she felt the sting of the pressure on it. She placed a hand on Clark's and tried to pry his fingers from her wrist, digging her heels into the concrete to keep herself from moving any further. Egon jogged forward towards them and grabbed onto Clark's wrist hard.

"Hope's not leaving with you." Egon's hold became tighter as he waited for Clark to let go of Hope. Clark clenched his jaw and let go of Hope as Egon kept his hold on him in case he tried again, "Leave and don't **ever** call on her again."

Clark gave a harsh nod, his teeth grinding together behind his tight lips. Egon let go of Clark's arm and looked over at Hope.

"Let me see your wrist." He spoke softly, watching as Hope rubbed her wrist gently.

"I'm fine Egon." Hope gave a small grim smile as she stared down at he red mark around her wrist burning slightly.

"I just want to make sure." Egon responded gently taking her arm, examining it. Clark watched quietly, his anger building, and took his chance while Hope and Egon were off guard.

"Hey asshole!" Clark called out and suddenly struck Egon in the side of the face with a tightly closed fist. Egon fell to the ground as Hope fell to his side on her knees. She lifted her hands out towards the bruise that was already beginning to form and fought against herself with what to do. The boys ran out from the lab/living room doorway and stood behind Hope and Egon.

"You think a girl like Hope would ever go for you!?" Clark shouted and pointed down at Egon, "You're a Goddamn science freak! You'll never get a girl! I bet you're still a virgin too! You queer!"

"Enough!" Hope stood up quickly and made contact with her fist against the man's cheek in an instant while a resonating harsh 'thump' circled around the garage. Clark clutched his pulsing cheek while Hope stared at him, fire in her eyes, "He's more of a man then you'll ever be Clark! Leave before **I **call the police!"

"You want the the queer science virgin!? Fine! Take him cause I don't want a whore that throws herself around with every guy she comes into contact with!" Clark shouted and stormed off, walking through the doors of the garage and out onto the streets. Hope stood for a moment longer, staring at the direction Clark had gone in.

"Hopie?" Ray asked timidly, trying to see if she was alright. After a moment of her not answering he and the other two left, leaving Hope and Egon. Hope turned around and kneeled back beside Egon. She gently turned his head so she could see his cheek. Her face was somber as she felt horrible for Egon taking a hit for her. She felt her eyes water and leaned back on her knees, eyes unable to look away from Egon.

"Guess he wasn't very good for me huh?" She asked quietly as she settled her hands in her lap. Egon stared at her through his crooked glasses, not sure what to say. Hope gave a forced smile and moved closer to him, fixing his glasses. Her fingers brushed against the deep colored bruise and the gash Clark's fist had caused on his cheek, feeling the heat it emitted.

"You deserve better." Egon said after a moment of silence. Hope stared into his eyes, her mind telling her that he was trying to make her feel better but her heart saying he truly meant it. She nodded her head after a moment and then wiped the tear that had escaped her.

"Why did you do that?" She asked through a small cry, feeling terrible that he got hurt because of her Egon knew exactly what she meant and found it hard to answer. He had no idea what had come over him to protect her like he had. There was just something inside of him that had awoken and taken charge, his masculine instincts to protect the woman.

"He wouldn't leave you alone like you asked." Egon answered softly and sat up a little straighter. Hope gave a small laugh and wiped away another tear that slid down her cheek. She stared back at Egon, her smile falling from her face as she tried not to notice the wound he had attained because of her.

Egon's eyes cut through her as she felt those butterflies flap around in her belly again. She willed them away, wanting her sadness to stay because of her guilt. Egon outstretched a hand and brushed back a strand of hair that sat away from the others behind her ear. His hand lingered on her cheek for a moment, his fingertips barely touching her skin.

Hope knew if he continued to stare at her the way he was, so delicate and caring, and if he continued to touch her the way he was touching her, gently and affectionately, she would succumb to whatever he wanted to do to her. She swallowed hard, feeling another tear fall down her cheek though she no longer felt sad, but instead felt anxious. He moved closer to her becoming more confident as his masculine nature taking hold of him once more.

Hope leaned forward with him, her eyes closing halfway as she awaited what he was about to do. His hand cupped her cheek more firmly as he closed his own eyes, their lips mere inches from each other.

"Oh my God! Egon!" Janine's voice rang out through the garage. Hope's eyes popped open as she pulled away from Egon. She swallowed hard again and stood up as Janine ran over to his other side, "Oh my God! What happened?"

Janine touched the side of Egon's face a little less gently then Hope had, but he ignored the pain and continued to watch Hope.

"The white knight came to the Princesses rescue." Hope spoke up with a small smile, looking from Egon to Janine, "Fix him up would you?"

"Of course! Oh my God!" Janine stood up with Egon as Hope began to walk away, arms crossed over her chest. Egon watched her go as Janine pulled him behind her towards the lab/living room where a first aid kit was always kept.

Hope walked up into the bedroom and over to the railing that surrounded the fire pole. She sat down, placing her legs through a rung, and stared down into the hole. Her hands and feet prickled with uneasiness as she felt herself become slightly afraid of falling.

Slowly her prickles ceased and she no longer thought of falling. Hope stared down into the fire hole as her thoughts drifted to Egon and what would have happened if Janine hadn't showed up like she did. She would have let him kiss her. She would have kissed him back. She had wanted him to kiss her, to feel his gentle lips against her own. She knew he was good for her.

Hope hit her head against the rung she had leaned it on and cursed under her breath. She knew from the very start of things that she would fall for Egon. He was sweet and kind and was always honest with her. The harder she had tried to stop herself the more she had fallen and falling was one of her biggest fears.

_Rule number five: Never leap unless someone is there to catch you._

Hope closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn't fall for him, she just couldn't. Even if he said he would catch her she just couldn't take the leap. She had fallen once before and he hadn't been there to catch her.

No, she wouldn't ever fall, wouldn't ever take that leap, unless she knew...absolutely knew, that the guy would be there to catch her. She wouldn't ever risk being so easy, so vulnerable again to have her heart break in the end.


	14. Chapter 14: Voices

Everything in this chapter plays a role in the sequel to 'Best, Beautiful, Ghostbusters'.

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

"Hello?" Hope called out down the long hallway of exhibits in the Natural History Museum. The lights were dim as she was closing up for the night. The only source of light came from above the exhibits in a soft glow. Hope turned back around and began walking again, her heels clicking behind her.

_"...is she 'her'...?"_Another whisper came from behind her, making her spin around to try and find the source. She stared down the empty hallway, only seeing the glass of the exhibits and the lights pour out from them.

"Hello?" Hope called out again, wondering if someone was playing a trick on her, "Is anyone there?"

_"...where is she going...?"_

_"...I don't know..."_ Hope took a step back down the hallway she had come from, looking at each exhibit as she passed.

_"...make her stay..." _Hope looked to her left, feeling as though that was where the voice had emitted from.

_"...I can't..."_ She turned to her right where the other voice had come from,_ "...I'm not powerful enough..."_

Hope felt someone place a hand on her shoulder and froze.

_"...something vast is coming..." _Hope swallowed slowly as her heart beat faster and faster in her chest. She slowly turned around and stared at the lighter end of the hall where she had yet to venture into. She hurried down the hall again and finished shutting the lights off, saying goodnight to Ralph the night guard.

She hit the cool air of the streets of New York alone, her skirt and blouse blowing in the small breeze. She was frightened and slightly paranoid.

_What if it was happening to her? What if she really could hear them?_

Hope scolded herself for thinking that way and continued on her trek to the Ghostbuster building rather paranoid.

The last two weeks she had volunteered to take more hours at the museum seeing as Winston had joined their little party of misfits. The mysterious voices calling her had begun a little while back, frightening her and of course she had kept it to herself. While it sent shivers down her spine she felt comfortable with them, which was why she was so frightened by them. For some reason they sounded familiar.

Other strange things had begun to happen around the city. More ghosts, more specters, more paranormal everything then the usual. Deep down Hope knew that something big was on the horizon. Something was coming and it wasn't going to end well in the end...

Hope stood outside the garage doors staring up at the sign. She had her arms crossed over her and moved her eyes to the darkened sky. Being lost in her thoughts she hadn't noticed the door open or the light that was now on her.

"I knew I heard the royal carriages." Peter walked out the door, hands in his pockets. He walked up to her with a smug grin and stared at her, waiting for a reply. When one didn't come he followed her gaze and stared at the sky, "Alright...I give up."

Hope looked over at him and gave a small grim laugh before walking through the open door. Peter followed her, closing the door as she passed the car and walked up to Janine behind her desk.

"Where's the boys?" She asked as she began to remove her jacket.

"I'm not good enough?" Peter asked, placing a hand over his chest as though hurt, "Fine. I know where I'm not wanted."

Peter walked away, Hope's and Janine's eyes following him. Janine looked back at Hope, chewing her gum and nodded her head to the stairs off to the right.

"Thanks." Hope replied and walked away. She descended the stairs and spotted Ray and Winston by the container.

"What's going on?" She asked as she hit the bottom step. Ray looked back at her, trap in his hands and a cigarette in his mouth. Winston stood beside him and slowly Hope put the pieces together, "Ah, you're being taught to use the container."

"Yeah, just what I want to be doing on my Saturday night." Winston spoke up as he placed his hands on his hips. Hope gave a small nod and sat on the last stair, staring down at her hands.

"Hey, uh...where's Egon?" Hope asked after a moment. Ray looked over at her with a narrowed glance.

"Something wrong?" He asked as the cigarette moved in his lips. Hope gave a small shake of her head and then shrugged, "Up stairs."

"In the lab." Winston clarified, earning a smile from Hope.

"Thanks Win." Hope stood up and began climbing the stairs, but stopped, "Put out that cancer stick Ray."

"Yeah as soon as you give up chocolate." Ray called back. Hope shook her head and continued her climb, walking back out into the garage. She crossed over to the door leading to the lab/living room and spotted Egon at a computer.

She stopped beside the open doorway and knocked gently against the wood. Egon looked to her, waiting for her to speak.

"Got a minute?" She asked softly, whatever look of contentment or happiness gone. Egon put down the papers he had been looking at and turned his chair towards her. Hope walked into the room and sat down on the couch, hands in her lap.

"Can I ask you something?" She began after a moment of silence. Egon watched her carefully, taking notice to her hadns fidgeting.

"Of course." Egon replied and wheeled his chair closer to her. Hope looked down t her hands and gripped them tightly to stop their twitching.

"Is it normal to not see entities, but hear them?" She asked slowly, not wanting to seem like a freak though she knew that Egon was the last one in the world next to Ray who would think that.

"In some cases." Egon answered slowly, wondering why she would ask such a thing. Hope looked back up at him and licked her lips.

"What about...feel them?" She asked carefully, thinking back to the museum.

"It can happen, yes." Egon replied. Hope gave a small nod and leaned back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling, "Is there a reason for these questions?"

Hope's eyes met Egon's as they began a staring match. As much as she liked Egon she was unsure if she should tell him why. She looked away from him, planning on saying something completely different.

_Rule number one: Tell the truth no matter how bad it hurts._

"I keep hearing voices..." She started softly, her thoughts returning to the voices at the museum.

"Where?" Egon's eyebrows knitted together, "At the museum?"

"Yeah." Hope looked back at him, clicking her teeth, "How did you know?"

"Entities have a habit of locking themselves with specific items they had in life." Egon explained to her gently. Hope laid her head in her hands, shutting her eyes. She rubbed her face gently and then looked back at him.

"And what if I were to tell you they said something was coming?" She asked carefully as Egon watched her for a moment.

"I'd say they were right." Egon retorted as he leaned forward in his chair. Hope's eyebrows knitted together in question at his response. Egon rolled back to the computer and took the papers he had been looking at before she walked into the room, "My recent data points to something big on the horizon."

Hope watched him as he flipped through the papers and then looked down at the floor. Egon took notice to her from the corner of his eye.

"Did you tell Ray?" He asked as he placed the papers in his lap.

"No...he'd never let me go back if I did that." Hope shook her head and gave a small grim laugh, "He worries to much about me as it is. Knowing that I could hear ghosts, but not see them would give him a heart attack."

Egon looked back at the papers and then placed them on the desk again beside the computer.

"You know when you asked me about being telepathic and all that?" Hope asked quietly as she ran a hand through her hair and leaned her chin in her palm.

"Yes." Egon replied and waited for whatever she wanted to say to him.

"My mother used to claim that all the women in her family could speak to ghosts." Hope shook her head slowly, bitting her bottom lip, "I would always see her in the kitchen, washing dishes with a smile, and talking to herself. It was like a one way conversation until I swore I could hear the other voice responding to her."

Hope swallowed the lump in her throat and laced her hands together.

"I started hearing them more and more as I grew up. I tried to hide it from her." Hope shook her head, "Then my father found out my mother was talking to herself...You know I used to have this imaginary friend. His name was James Gregory. He had red hair, freckles, and always worse the same blue overalls and a red plaid shirt."

Hope felt silent as she remembered what had happened the day her mother left. She took a deep breath and licked her dry lips. Egon watched her, unsure of whether or not to say something.

"When my father found out about my mother he sent her away. Said she was ill and needed help...I remember visiting her in the hospital when I finished high school and seeing her in all that white. She looked like an angel." Hope gave a small teary laugh and sniffed, "She started talking about James. I never told her about James. Ever and there she was describing him to me down to the color of his shoes; brown converses with black stars he had drawn himself. I stopped hearing the voices a year after that."

Hope wiped the tear that had fallen down her cheek and gave a small laugh, shaking her head.

"Ray doesn't know this, but the real reason our father and me had a falling out was because I was just like our mom. My father said that I was disturbed when he found out I was speaking with ghosts again and blamed mom for brainwashing me. He tried to emit me into a psych ward up until he died." Hope felt another tear roll down her cheek and quickly she wiped it away, "I remember what they did to my mother. Gave her shock therapy and injections and forced her to take pills until she was an empty shell..."

The room fell silent apart from the ticking of the clock on the wall. Hope gave a small sniff and wiped more of her tears away. She couldn't believe that she had just told him all that. Years of secrets just poured out in a few minutes.

Egon stood up from his chair and slowly walked over to Hope, kneeling before her. He gently took hold of her hands, staring down at them.

"Your mother wasn't ill and neither are you." He spoke softly, slightly uncomfortable with comforting her. He tapped their hands gently against her legs, trying to figure out what would be the right words to say.

"Maybe I am." Hope whispered and looked down at their hands. She felt her tears disappear and felt her mind returning to normal. Her eyes narrowed at their hands as she gave a small scoff, "Maybe I should be put away. Maybe I am crazy."

"After everything we've seen in the past weeks you still think you're crazy? You don't belong in a psych ward Hope." Egon spoke up instantly, slightly surprised that she would say something like that. Hope looked at his eyes through his glasses, seeing his agitation and felt slightly ashamed of herself for saying what she had, "And I'm not about to send you to one or let anyone else send you to one."

"I'm sorry." Hope started softly and looked back at their hands, "I act as though the world revolves around me, don't I?"

She gave a small laugh and squeezed his hands gently in hers. She looked back at him and gave a small smile, trying to hide what she was feeling.

"No, you don't. You've had to deal with some tough things and you act as though they never happened." Egon stated, knowing exactly what she was feeling though she tried to hide it, "But you're worried you're going to end up like your mother in the end."

Hope thought for a moment on what he said and then nodded. She was worried about ending up like her mother. That was probably why she never told anyone else beside her father, or Egon now, about hearing ghosts. Being shocked and injected and being forced to take pills that turned **you** into a ghost...she didn't want that at all.

"Thank you Egon," Hope started as she pulled her hands from his, "For listening to me and being my voice of reason."

Hope smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Egon stiffened slightly, his momentary lapse of being confident diminishing. He swallowed hard and lifted his hands, unsure if he should reciprocate.

"Egon, I'm the last girl in the world that you should be nervous around with these things." Hope whispered in his ear and pushed his arms, telling him to hug her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck again and closed her eyes, holding him tightly to her. Egon's arms wrapped lightly around her as he became accustomed to the feeling of having he against him. He closed his eyes after a moment and smelled the scent of her shampoo.

Hope pulled back, kissing his cheek in the process, and stared at him. She placed a hand against the cheek she hadn't kissed and smiled.

"You weren't hugged very much as a kid were you?" She asked after a moment, feeling herself return to normal.

"No, my parents didn't believe in the nurture aspect." Egon replied as he swallowed hard, feeling the heat of a blush on his cheeks. Hope gave a bright smile and nodded, somehow knowing that would be his answer.

"What a coincidence. My parents didn't believe in the nature aspect." She gave a small laugh and let her hand fall. She stood up from the couch, Egon following suit, "Thank you."

"For what?" Peter asked as he walked into the room. Hope looked back at him and then at Egon, giving him a wink. She passed Peter with a smile and walked out of the room. Peter looked back at Egon, his eyes narrowing as a smirk slid onto his lips, "So I see you two kids were having some fun."

"We were discussing things." Egon replied, straightening himself. Peter nodded his head, his eyes reeking mischief.

"Hm, last time I checked discussions didn't usually end up with one person having lipstick on their cheek." Peter gave a laugh as he turned on his heels and walked out. Egon stood their, his face flushing bright red with the lipstick imprint on his cheek.


	15. Chapter 15: Second Is The Best

Hey, thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! I'm glad you all are enjoying the new version! Special thanks to HinataElyonToph  
and Raine44354!

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

"Hey Janine." Hope greeted as she came down the steps into the garage. Janine looked at her for a moment and then looked back to her magazine, "Hi Hope..."

Hope whispered back Janine's reply and hit the bottom step of the stairs, arms holding several of the uniforms that she had cleaned. She crossed the garage and to the changing stations marked with each of their names. She opened up Ray's, putting away his suit.

"Hello?" Hope's head turned to her right at the sudden voice behind the garage door. She looked back at Janine, wondering if she had also heard the knock and voice, "Is anyone there?"

Hope looked back at the door and walked over to it slowly. Carefully she opened it, the light from the garage pouring out onto the sidewalk were a cop stood.

"May I help you?" She asked gently, opening the door wider.

"Evening Miss. Are you a Ghostbuster?" The young cop asked, tipping his hat a little.

"Yes, I am." Hope gave a small smile, "Are you dropping off?"

"Yes Miss. I didn't know what to do with him and I know you guys love this stuff." The cop gave a small smile, nodding his head back towards the van parked beside the sidewalk.

"Could you hold on one moment?" Hope asked while the cop gave a small nod. Hope stuck her head back into the garage and looked back at Janine, "Could you get Egon?"

"Sure." Janine got up from her seat and walked into the lab/living room. Hope turned back to the open door and stepped out into the night, leaving the door ajar as the cop led her to the van. The cop opened the back of the van, revealing a man in a restraining jacket.

"Hope?" Hope looked back at the garage door and spotted Egon walking towards her, "What's going on?"

"Drop off." Hope sighed and looked back at the man sitting in the van.

"Are you the Gatekeeper?" The man in the van leaned forward towards Hope, his head bobbing. Hope looked back at Egon, sharing the same expression he wore. Hope bit the side of her lip and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. Egon waved device in front of the man and immediately beeps went off, signaling that something was obviously not normal with him.

"You should bring him inside." Egon announced as Hope began walking back toward the building. Egon and Janine followed after her, Egon's eye on Hope and Janine's on Egon.

"You are so kind to take care of that man." Janine began as she placed a hand on Egon's arm. Hope looked back at them, her eyes narrowing at the touch, "You know you're a real humanitarian."

"I don't think he's human." Egon responded as they all waked into the building, Hope going straight into the lab/living room and took her hair out of the ponytail she had been wearing. Egon led the man wearing the restraining jacket into the room, Janine following closely behind.

Hope sat down on the arm of the couch and watched as Egon placed the helmet he had designed on the man's head. He clicked on one of the screens and there it was; the spirit possessing the man. Egon took one last look at it and turned the screen off, turning to look at Hope.

"What's your name again?" Hope asked as she stared at the man in the helmet.

"My name is Vinz Clortho, Keymaster of Gozer." The man answered as though in a trance. Hope gave a sarcastic laugh and placed her head in her palms.

"According to his license his name is Louis Tully. Lives on Central Park West." Janine handed the wallet to Egon, who inspected it, "Do you want some coffee Mr. Tully?"

"Do I?" Louis looked up at Egon in confusion. Hope lifted her head from her hands and stared at him and then at Egon.

"Yes, have some." Egon told him while Louis looked back at Janine.

"Yes. Have some." He recited as Janine gave Egon a funny stare and walked over to the coffee pot.

"Vinz, you said before you were waiting for a sign." Egon sat beside Hope on the couch and looked at Louis, "What sign are you waiting for?"

"Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms." Louis gave a sickening smirk causing Hope to narrow her eyes, feeling slightly on edge. Egon noticed and placed a hand on her knee, "During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!"

Hope took Egon's hand and squeezed it gently, looking over at him. Egon saw the small hint of dread in her eyes and took his hand from hers, deciding to wrap it around her shoulders instead.

"Oh, Egon, " Both Hope and Egon looked back at Janine, who waved for Egon to come over to her. Egon let go of Hope and stood up from the couch, rounding to the back of it where Janine was, "There's something very strange about that man."

Janine looked back at Louis, who was staring about the room. Janine looked back at Egon and placed her hands gently on his chest. Hope stared at them, her gut churning at the close contact between them.

"Listen, I'm usually very psychic about these things," Janine started as Hope tried to hold back a laugh. Janine played with Egon's shirt, "I have a terrible feeling that something awful is going to happen to you."

Hope rolled her eyes, watching Louis play with his pants.

"I'm afraid you're going to die." Janine looked up at Egon, her eyes glistening.

"Oh please..." Hope softly scoffed as she looked back at Louis while he sniffed a jar of popcorn. When Hope looked back at Egon she spotted them hugging and immediately felt her blood boil. Her jaw clenched as Egon looked over at her. She turned away, not wanting to see them standing there together anymore.

Egon watched as Hope turned away and felt his heart drop. His hands lay gently against Janine's back, uncomfortable with the situation he was in. He looked back at Hope again and watched her closely, taking notice to the sullen look on her face.

Suddenly the phone rang, causing everyone in the room to look at the phone sitting on the other side of the couch.

"I got it." Egon tried getting out of Janine's grip, but Hope was too quick.

"No, don't be silly. I've got it. Hate to break up such a touching moment." Hope moved to the telephone and picked it up, "Ghostbusters."

_"Wow, what's got the Princess so wound up?"_

"Peter?" Hope asked slowly.

_"I've got some news from the realm of Gozer."_

"Really? What is it?" Hope asked, somewhat surprised about the mention of Gozer again.

_"It seems the Goze has been putting the moves on my would be girlfriend."_

"Is she alright? Is she breathing?" Hope asked while Egon and Janine moved closer to the couch.

_"__Yeah, I knocked her up with about 300cc of Thorazine. She's gonna take a little nap now."_

"Okay..." Hope ignored Egon as he sat down beside her and even moved away a little, still feeling angry and jealous.

_"Seems she believes she's the Gatekeeper. Does that mean anything to you guys?"_

"Uh yeah actually." Hope spoke slightly confused as she looked over at Louis, "We just met the Keymaster."

_"Oh wonderful. We just have to get these two together."_

"What's he saying?" Janine spoke up, leaning on the back of the couch between Egon and Hope. Hope glared at her a moment and then pushed her back a little, leaning towards Egon.

"He wants to bring Dana here because she says she's the Gatekeeper." Hope explained. Egon shook his head as Hope looked back at Louis, "No, Egon says that a really terrible idea. I think so too."

Hope looked back at Egon and then at Janine who sat on his left. Peter gave a sarcastic sigh through the phone as Hope leaned back into the couch.

_"Alright, well keep a hold on him. I'll be there in a bit."_

"Okay. See you in a bit." Hope hung up the phone and looked over at Louis, staring at him while he dumped out the container of popcorn, "Janine find Ray and Winston."

"But what about-"

"Janine we need them here." Egon spoke up before Hope could. Janine looked over at Hope, a glare in her eyes and then looked at Egon. She stood from the seat, dragging her hand across Egon's chest as she left. Hope tightened her jaw and turned back to Louis while he handed Egon a pan he had picked up from the counter beside him, "Thank you Vinz."

Hope leaned back against the couch, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Are you alright?" Egon asked softly, feeling the anger radiate from Hope beside him.

"What do you think?" Hope snapped softly, leaning her elbows on her knees. The room fell silent apart from Louis rummaging around the counters. Hope looked over at Egon and immediately felt bad for snapping at him seeing his beaten puppy look. She bit her bottom lip and then nudged him gently, looking back in front of her as though she hadn't done anything.

Egon ignored her, earning another glance at him from her. She nudged him again, this time keeping her eyes on him. He didn't respond again and kept his gaze forward.

"Wow you're a master at the cold shoulder." Hope spoke up, lacing her hands in her lap. Egon looked over at her.

"Did you say something?" He asked, causing Hope to narrow her eyes.

"Were you...? Did you...?" She started, trying to figure out whether or not he was yanking her chain. Egon's lips curled into a small smirk making her laugh, "Oh wow. I got played."

Hope gave another laugh and shook her head as she watched Louis carefully. Hope licked her lips and took a deep breath, standing up from the couch. She walked out the door to find Janine, hoping she had found out where Ray and Winston were.

"Any idea where the dynamic duo are?" She asked as she walked up to Janine's desk. Janine watched her carefully, her eyes in a pointed glance. Hope knitted her eyebrows together a the look and gave a small unsure smile, "What?"

"Do you like Egon?" Janine spoke up, not catching Hope by surprise. Hope shook her head, this being the last thing she wanted to deal with at the moment.

"Yeah, I think I do." Hope replied honestly. Janine nodded her head slowly.

"Just because you've got blonde hair and good looks don't mean he's gonna fall for you." Janine added in, leaning forward in her chair.

"You're right." Hope nodded, agreeing with the statement, "You may not believe me, but I've already told him and the others that I think you and him are a good match."

Janine sat quietly, watching Hope with a steady eye. Her gaze drifted off to her left as she spotted Egon standing in the doorway of the lab/living room. She looked back at Hope, who stared at the ground, arms across her chest.

"Girls like me don't end up with guys like Egon. Not in reality anyway." Hope retorted and began to walk away.

"Who do girls like you end up with then?" Janine called out to Hope as she had begun to climb the stairs. Hope stopped and looked over the railing.

"Guys like Clark are as good as we get." Hope called back as she continued her climb, "And sometimes they're not as good as him even."

Hope walked through the doorway of the bedroom and climbed into her bed, not bothering to change. She hugged her pillow to her chest and sighed heavily, thinking back on every guy she ever dated. None of them had ever been like Egon.

Only one guy ever came within an inch of being considered close to Egon and that relationship had ended terribly; fights, hospital visits, police investigations, the whole shebang.

_Rule number six: Never settle for second best._

"Screw that rule." Hope whispered and closed her eyes as she yawned, "I'd settle for third."


	16. Chapter 16: Broken Hearts

I hope you're enjoying this version. Sorry that my updates had stopped for a while, but the lack of reviews gave me no inspiration. *hint hint*

-Winter

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

Hope awoke a few hours later, not feeling that much better about what had gone on before she had fallen asleep. Her dreams had been filled with her last relationship and it had made it rather hard for her to rest seeing as the last relationship was, to say the least, a little bumpy.

"Ugh...Evan...you are still such a drag..." Hope scowled at the name and rolled over onto her back as she stared at the ceiling. She raised her arms up, stretching them out as she yawned. Her eyes landed on her left hand and she sighed, shaking her head, "And to think we were so close too..."

"So close to what?" Hope shot up in the bed and stared at Egon, who stood in the doorway. He had his hands in his pockets as he peered over at her through his glasses.

"So close to..." Hope tried to think of an excuse, but gave up when her first rule sound in her head. She took a deep breath and sighed heavily, hitting the bed on either side of her, "So close to getting hitched."

Egon's eyebrows knitted together, completely thrown by the reveal. He walked into the room and sat down at the small circular table, facing her. Hope stared at him and then her eyes landed on the bruise that had faded, but not yet completely.

"What happened?" Egon asked gently, not wanting to bring up bad memories, but at the same time wanted to know. Hope clicked her tongue against her teeth and shook her head.

"A lot of things." Hope answered as she pulled her knees to her chest while the cover still rested over the bottom half of her, "Everything was great for a while, but when we got engaged it fell apart. He became a whole other person. Someone I knew would ruin me, but I just couldn't leave him. Why is that?"

"Why is what?" Egon asked, confused by the question.

"How come it's so much easier to leave the good guys when they've done **nothing** wrong, but stay with the bad ones when they've done **everything** wrong?" Hope clarified, not exactly expecting a response from him. She bit her bottom lip and thought about it, but soon gave a small laugh, shrugging it off.

"But you did leave him in the end." Egon stated, trying to get her to tell him about this 'Evan'. Hope looked back at him, knowing exactly what he was up to. For some reason she liked how curious he was about her and her past.

"If you wanted the whole story you could have just asked." She gave a smile and pushed her pillow up against the head board rungs, leaning against it, "I met him while I was in college at Brown. He was in my Anthropology class."

"I thought you went to Columbia." Egon spoke up as Hope shook her head.

"No, that was Ray. When I was old enough I got away from here as fast as I could. Anyway," Hope gave a small laugh at how easy they could get off track, "Evan and I started dating in my second to last year and I have to say it seemed like Heaven. He was handsome, smart, funny, respectful, and played on the soccer team. Ugh, I remember going to all of his games. But um, he graduated before me and asked me to marry him a while after. Of course being me I said yes without a second thought."

Hope paused, thinking back on Evan's proposal and the ring he had picked out. Her face scrunched up as she pictured it.

"I hated that ring; yellow gold, a single diamond, yuck...He had bad taste, but I was in love with him so I lived with it. About two months after we had started the arraignments and picked a date he just..changed. He was no longer that funny, polite boy anymore. He was angry all the time and never wanted to be in the same room as anyone; more specifically me." Hope stared up at the ceiling and laced her hands on her stomach.

"Did he ever say why he acted like that?" Egon piped up form his chair. Hope shook her head.

"No, but I remember confronting him one day about him avoiding me and I got a nice shiner from it. Nearly broke my nose in the process. If he had done it to me today I would have hit right back and called the police, but at the time I was naive and made excuses for his behavior."

"You never called the police?" Egon asked, slightly surprised. That would have been the first thing he would have expected her to do.

"No, I was in love and it was the first time he ever laid a hand on me like that. He said he was sorry too, so I forgave him. It didn't end though. It happened again and again and again until I ended up in the hospital. Then the police got involved and then a hearing where I was so stupid enough to say that it was an accident, that his fist just 'happened' to collide with the side of my head."

"You stayed with him?" Egon questioned. Hope looked over at him, defeated.

"I wasn't always this smart Egon. I used to be the blonde bimbo who got pretty much everything she wanted when she wanted it." Hope explained and rearranged herself against the pillow behind her.

"When did you 'get smart'?" Egon's question caused Hope to laugh.

"When I found him screwing his ex in the back room of the church on our wedding day." Hope shook her head and grit her teeth, feeling anger weld up inside of her, "I wanted to kill him...and her of course, but I settled for suing him for emotional and physical damages and moved on with my life."

"Is that why you started traveling?" Hope looked over at Egon, taking her chance to be confused, "To escape him?"

Hope's eyes lowered as she thought the idea over.

"I've always wanted to travel. Maybe he just gave me enough reason to go through with it." She nodded slowly and gave a small smile, "I loved traveling to remote places and if he was the reason I hate him even more."

Hope felt quiet as she thought of all the places she had been to, seen, touched. A smile graced her lips, sticking to them as she sighed contently.

"Which one are you thinking about?" Egon asked, knowing she was thinking about her 'adventures'.

"Inisheer Island on the coast of Ireland." She looked over at him and laughed, "I loved it there. As soon as I get the chance I'm going back."

"I was expecting somewhere...warmer."

"Yeah, well my seasons are Autumn and Winter." Hope gave another laugh and closed her eyes. A thought popped into her head and soon she looked over at him, wanting her questions answered. She thought carefully on how to approach the subject because the last thing she wanted was him to be angry with her.

"So...who was the one who broke **your** heart?" She asked carefully, her eyes softening as Egon stared at her, his eyes grim. Hope bit her lip and kept her eyes locked with his, waiting for him to answer, "What was her name Egon?"

"Emma." He answered gently as his eyes fell to the ground. Hope slowly sat up straighter and pulled the covers off of her, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She moved to the table and sat down in the chair beside his.

"What did she look like?" Hope crossed her arms on the table and laid her head on them, staring at him.

"She had coppery hair and green eyes." Egon's voice sounded far off and Hope felt bad for bringing up bad memories. Hope moved her left hand from under her head and took his, holding it lightly. Egon looked at their hands and then at her, his face blank.

"She was a fool to let you slip through her fingers." Hope gave a small smile and sat up. She moved his hand closer to her and kissed the back of it gently, "You'll find someone better. Someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved."

The room fell silent as Egon stared at her. Hope looked at their hands with a soft smile while her free hand gently traced the lines on the back of his hand.

"Why does love mean...?" Hope asked softly as she knitted her eyebrows together while she stared at their hands. Egon's eyes landed back on her and he thought hard about the question.

"It's a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection." Egon replied with his dictionary meaning. Hope gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, but what does it mean to love someone?" Hope asked and looked over at him, her eyes soft and concentrated. Egon looked between her eyes, feeling his chest tighten as his heart began to beat faster behind his ribcage.

"...um...I'm not exactly the person to ask." He swallowed hard as he felt his hands become clammy. He didn't know the answer to this question.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Hope started as she leaned back in her chair, realizing the situation she had put Egon in. She began pulling her hand away from his, but stopped when she felt his hold on hers tighten.

"To be there for them. To..." Egon hesitated as Hope's eyes relocked with his. He swallowed hard again and took a deep breath, "To be there to catch them when they fall."

The butterflies flapped around in Hope's belly as she felt herself falling right back where she was when Egon had rescued her from Clark. Her heart beat slower and faster at the same time while her eyes were locked with his. Hope felt herself leaning towards him slowly, need building up within her.

Egon froze as he watched her lean closer to him, her eyes burning with some emotion he was beginning to feel himself. He tightened his hold on her hand and slowly inched forward, nervous and yet excited about what was soon to happen.

His right hand moved mindlessly to cup her cheek, his fingers resting gently against her smooth creamy skin. Their eyes closed as their foreheads met, delaying what both of them wanted.

Hope's breathing rose though she tried to calm it. Her hands were tingling and her heart was beating against her ribs. She felt Egon's breath on her lips, teasing her, encouraging her. She wanted to kiss him, move that last centimeter closer and feel his lips against her own, but she fought it. She wanted Egon to make that move. She **needed** him to be the one to make that move.

Egon knew she was waiting for him to make the move, but he was hesitating. This was all new to him and it was happening so fast. These feelings he had, the close intimate contact, and now a kiss. What if she thought it was bad? What if she didn't feel what he felt when they kiss?

Egon hated what he was about to do, but felt it was right. He pulled back from Hope and turned his eyes away from her, not wanting to see the disappointment in them.

Hope's eyes popped open when he moved away, completely confused as to why he had. Did he not want this? Had she been wrong to think he liked her?

She stared at him long and hard, face sad and confused. He only stared at the floor and this made it worse. Hope turned in her seat and stared across the table, trying to figure out what she was feeling. She felt sad and hurt and...rejected. All the things Evan had made her feel.

Hope swallowed hard as she felt tears rush to her eyes. She looked back at Egon, not knowing what to do. Quickly she stood up, her eyes never leaving him, and then walked to the door. She walked down the hall with her arms crossed over her chest and then into the garage.

"Hope, have you seen Egon?" Janine asked from where she stood behind her desk. Hope walked passed her, pointing to the stairs she had just come down.

"He's uh...he's up there." She responded, trying to keep herself together. She walked passed the car and through the garage door onto the busy sidewalk. She stopped and looked to her left and then to her right, unsure of where to go or what to do, but knowing she couldn't stay at there.


	17. Chapter 17: Not Enough

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share this with you. Check out these amazing drawings **Hinataelyontoph **drew about Egon and Hope. I love them! Copy the linky: _hinataelyontoph . deviantart .com_

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**{~Stay Puft~}**

Several days had passed since the 'incident' between Egon and Hope. The boys had come back to Headquarters to find Hope was gone and Egon a complete mess. Neither of the two answered the questions about what was wrong with them, which only led to more questions.

Hope was currently walking the halls of the museum slowly, swinging her keys on the chain back and forth. Her eyes were cast down at the marbled floors as she passed exhibit after exhibit not caring to look at herself in the reflection of the glass. The voices still followed her, but her mind was too far away, even for them, to reach it.

Her eyes were puffy and pink from the crying she had been doing. She had bags under her eyes and her hair was in a messy bun. She hadn't bothered to put on makeup or even to dress herself up as much as she usually did for work. In the end she was a girl who had her heartbroken.

She had been thinking for days about what had happened and she still had no answer to why he had pulled away. She had thought up thousands of reasons, but none of them seemed to fit.

She was too touchy; wrong.

She was too needy; wrong.

She was too talkative; wrong.

She was too outgoing; wrong.

She wasn't pretty enough; wrong.

She wasn't smart enough; wrong.

She wasn't thin enough; wrong.

She wasn't his type; really wrong.

Every single reason she came up with she had scratched out as 'wrong'. She just didn't understand and she was trying so hard to. She liked him, more then she had originally thought and it was too late to forget those feelings.

"I'm locking up!" Ralph called out from the end of the hall. Hope looked up from the floor and gave him a small nod. She walked passed him, earning a sympathetic glance from him as she went.

She headed down the sidewalk with her arms wrapped around her tightly. She ignored the people she passed and headed into her apartment building.

"'Ey! Miss Thurman!" Frank Fiorini called from where he leaned against the main desk, "Back again tonight?"

"Yeah, maybe it'll become permanent huh?" She gave him a grim smile and walked into the elevator, hitting her floor button. She walked into her apartment and took off her jacket, placing on a hanger inside the closet. She moved into the kitchen and opened up the fridge at the sorry excuse for food in it.

"Guess I'm having pizza again." She sighed and closed the door, walking to the phone that hung on the wall. She ordered the pizza and walked into her living room where the television sat. She plopped down on the couch and hugged one of the pillows tightly to her chest. She grabbed the remote and flipped on the television, flipping through the channels.

She found a commercial the Ghostbusters had put together not long ago and growled, throwing her pillow at the screen. She turned the television off and tossed the remote to the floor. She closed her eyes tightly and took several deep breaths.

A knock came from the door and Hope pulled herself from the couch, grabbing her money from her jacket pocket. She opened the door and paid the pizza boy, taking the pie back inside, locking the door back up.

After she ate she took a long hot shower and got into bed, finding it hard to sleep. She looked to the picture on her nightstand and pulled it closer. It was of all of them, the Ghostbusters. They were standing outside Headquarters in their uniforms.

Hope gave a small smile and placed it back on the nightstand, rolling onto her back. She stared at the ceiling and sighed.

"I've got to go back..." She decided, not wanting to let grief and rejection win. She soon fell into a light sleep, her mind pulling back the memory of the 'almost' kiss.

Hope woke up the next morning, rested up and feeling better then she had the night before. She sat up in her bed and looked around the room, scratching her neck and then ruffling her hair. Slowly, she pulled herself from the bed and walked into the bathroom, taking a shower.

She walked into Headquarters, spotting Janine first behind her desk. Janine watched Hope carefully, her expression narrowed.

"Morning Janine." Hope greeted as she walked closer, hands in her jacket pockets. Janine grunted and picked up her magazine off the desk. Hope ignored the response and walked into her own office, sitting at her desk and looking through the folders it was littered with.

She sat there for at least an hour, reading and rereading through the folders of nonsense that were supposed to be reports of each 'case' the Ghostbusters had been on.

"Here's another one for ya." Janine spoke up through chewing her gum hard. Hope watched her as she set down another pile of manila folders on her desk.

"Wonderful..." Hope sighed and pulled the stack closer. Janine looked around the office, taking notice to the pictures upon the walls.

"Did you take these photos?" She asked as she picked one up from Hope's desk. Hope nodded and circled something on a paper she had pulled from one of the many folders.

"Yeah, I take a few pictures on every dig I go on....went on." Hope corrected herself and gave a small laugh. Janine nodded her head and popped the gum bubble she had blown. Janine set the picture back on the desk top and stared down at Hope through her glasses.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to." Janine spoke up, catching Hope off guard.

"Excuse me?" She asked as she slowly while she set the folder she had picked up down and looked up at Janine. Janine crossed her arms slowly over her chest, blowing another bubble of gum.

"You're trying to steal Egon from me." Janine's response caused Hope to burst out laughing.

"Oh Janine." Hope spoke through her laughs. She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I can't steal what you never had in the first place."

Hope looked back up at her, her laughs dying down. The two woman stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Janine gave a small scoff and popped her gum again.

"Yeah, I suppose so." She gave a small huff and looked away, "I can't blame you for liking him. He's a real doll, that man."

"Yeah he is." Hope gave a small smile and nodded her head. Janine turned to walk out the office, but stopped.

"He really likes you, you know. I see the way he looks at you. Like a love sick puppy with those big brown eyes, always trying to please." Janine spoke up, causing Hope to stare at her in surprise. Janine chewed the gum in her mouth hard and began walking towards the door, "Can't blame _him_ either."

"Why not?" Hope asked, completely caught off guard by the comment. Janine gave a shrug.

"You can be as sweet as sugar and that puppy's got one hell of a sweet tooth." She replied, earning a smile from Hope, "But don't think I'm giving up."

"Of course not. Wasn't expecting you to." Hope turned back to the folders as she thought about what Janine had said. She swiveling back and forth in her chair, lacing her hands in her lap.

_"He likes you, you know."_

Hope felt herself smile a little at the thought. It soon faded when she remembered why she had been gone for so long. If he liked her then why didn't he kiss her? What was wrong?

"Wow, someone looks upset." Peter poked his head into her office as Hope looked down at the desk top, unable to control the sad look on her face, "A certain eggheaded scientist on the brain, perhaps?"

"No." Hope tried denying the accusation, but when she looked up at Peter's smirk she caved, "Yes."

"So, what happened?" Peter asked as he walked into the room, sitting down at the chair before her desk and propping his feet up.

"Nothing happened." Hope replied and stood up from her desk, picking up a folder along the way. She walked to the filing cabinet in the corner and opened the top, sliding the folder inside.

"That's a load of bullshit Princess and trust me. I know about bullshitting people." Peter commented and reached for the picture on her desk. He stared down at it and gave a small laugh before putting it back.

Hope stood with her back to him, staring at the wall above the cabinet. She wondered if she should tell him or if it might be better that he never found out.

"Is this about that 'almost but not quite' kiss?" Peter hit the nail on the head, but when Hope spun around he saw how surprised she was, "I saw you two."

"You were spying?" Hope accused and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You have it all wrong." Peter spoke quickly and took his feet from her desk, "I was simply watching out for Egon. You are a **man-eater** after all."

Hope's mouth dropped open as she huffed, her arms falling. She stormed back to her seat and sat down, pulling a folder to her. She huffed again and cursed under her breath as she tried to read the papers the manila folder held.

"So you want my professional opinion or not?" Peter asked as he leaned on the desk.

"No." Hope scoffed and opened another folder.

"Okay since you asked," Peter propped his feet back on top of the desk again and leaned back in his seat, lacing his hands in his lap, "I'd say from what I saw that Egghead is scared."

"Scared of what?" Hope asked, humoring him.

"What we're all scared of Princess." Hope looked over at him, crossing her arms on her desk, "Not-being-enoughobia."

Hope stared at him, actually thinking he was on to something. Hope bit her bottom lip and leaned back into her chair.

"Okay, say you're right." Hope started, "Why does he think he's not enough?"

"Hm, I dunno. Maybe because he's Egon?" Peter asked sarcastically, earning a pointed look from Hope, "Or maybe it's because you talked about that Ethan kid as if he were a god that you were_ 'so in love' _with."

"His name's Evan." Hope grit out.

"See!? You just corrected me on the guy's name!" Peter shouted with a small laugh, pointing at her. Hope was about to retort until she thought it over. She had made Evan seem more then he was.

_Evan and I started dating in my second to last year and I have to say it seemed like Heaven. He was handsome, smart, funny, respectful, and played on the soccer team._

"How can mortals live up to that?" Peter sarcastically scowled with a smirk. Hope's face fell slightly the more she thought about it. She would never admit it, but Peter was right.

Egon had been afraid of not being enough for her. He was afraid he could never live up to the standards she had, but little did he know that in Hope's eyes he had surpassed those standards.

"See you later Princess. There's a calzone with my name on it upstairs." Peter stood up from his seat and walked out of her office. Hope looked back down at the folders littering her desk and sighed, throwing her head into the palms of her hands.

"I hate you Peter..."


	18. Chapter 18: I'm Not Crazy

Thank you all so much for your wonderful and inspirational reviews!

* * *

**{~Stay Puft~}**

A week went by and everything seemed to return to normal, apart from the fact the Hope would never stay in a room alone with Egon anymore. Ray found this unsettling, curious as to why Hope was avoiding his longtime friend, but didn't ask questions. He knew that if Hope was in that much trouble she would find him and explain it all.

Hope sat in her office behind her desk, arms crossed over its top and head lying on her arms. Her eyes were closed and her breathing slow, asleep in her chair.

The last few days had wiped her out. Between pulling extra shifts at the museum and going on 'cases' with the guys Hope was exhausted. The fact that the voices at the museum had begun to become more frequent didn't make it any better either.

"Excuse me!" Hope's head snapped up from her arms, leaning back in her seat still half asleep, "You can't!"

Hope blinked her eyes several times and stood up, walking to her door. She spotted Janine stopping Walter Peck, who had along with him a cop and maintenance man. Hope quickly woke up and jogged from her office door.

"Excuse me! Just where do you think you're going!?" Hope strode right up beside Janine, arms crossed over her chest as she stared Peck down.

"I have a court order to shut off and cease all activity within this building." Peck held up the file of an order as Hope nodded her head and looked at Janine. Hope kept her eyes on Peck, not about to let him win.

"Janine get Egon. Now please." Hope moved in front of Walter as Janine made a run for the basement stairs. Hope struggled with keeping Walter at bay and lost when the cop got involved, pulling her out of the way.

"You have no right!" Hope yelled as Peck began in the direction Janine had gone.

"I have every right!"Peck turned back at her, his jaw clenched. He turned back to the stairway while the cop pushed Hope forward, telling her to follow.

"Egon! Egon!" Janine yelled as she ran down the steps, Peck, the cop holding Hope, and the maintenance man trailing behind, "We tried to stop them, but they say they have a court order!"

Janine landed on the basement floor and rushed over to Egon, tugging on his arm. Peck, the cop with Hope, and the maintenance man followed.

"Excuse me." Egon moved in front of the protection grid while Vinz, who had been the Ghostbuster's guest as of late, followed. Egon stood in front of the container where all the ghosts were unloaded into and held up a hand, Vinz following suit. Hope tried to move, but the cop had a firm hold on her. Egon spotted this and narrowed his eyes, "I would appreciate it if you let her go."

"I bet you would." The cop spit out and then let Hope go with a little shove. She fixed her shirt and stepped beside Egon, annoyed with their visitors.

"This is private property." Egon spoke up, watching Peck carefully as he examined the protection grid.

"Shut these down." Peck began instructing, pointing to random machines, "Shut them all down."

"No, you can't!" Hope chimed in as she looked over at Peck and the cop, "That's a very bad idea. It's very dangerous."

"She's right. Turning off these machines is extremely hazardous." Egon nodded as he tried to block Peck from moving closer to the protection grid.

"I'll tell you what's hazardous. You're facing federal prosecution for at least half a dozen environmental violations." Peck snapped and poked Egon in the chest several times with the hand holding the court order, "Now either you shut off these beams or we shut them off for you."

"Try to understand. This a high voltage containment system." Egon stood in front of the system with his arms outstretched to the sides, "Simply turning it off would be like dropping a bomb in the city."

"...ugh...you are the dumbest smart guy I know Egon Spengler..." Hope sighed exasperated and slapped a hand to her face, knowing the whole 'bomb in the city' bit wasn't going to make it any better. Feet slapping against the stairs to the basement cause everyone's attention to divert from their current situation

"What the hell's going on?" Hope's head snapped to see Peter coming down the stairs, stopping on the basement floor as he looked around at everyone. His landed on the cop and he gave a small smile "I think there's been a slight misunderstanding is all. I want to cooperate in anyway that I can officer."

"Forget it Venkman. You had your chance." Peck's head had snapped to Peter as his eyes blazed with fury.

"He wants to shut down the grid Pete." Hope spoke up as she looked to Peter, silently asking him for help. Peter took one look at her and then back at Peck, realizing the situation they were in.

"You shut it down then we're not going to be held responsible for what happens." Peter answered calmly as he and Peck glared at each other.

"You most certainly **will** be held accountable! Shut it off! Now!" Peck yelled at the maintenance man. He moved over to where the man stood, waiting for his job to be done.

"Um...I-I've never seen anything like this." The maintenance man answered and pointed to the ghost storage, "I don't know-"

"I'm not interested in what you think. Just shut it off." Peck snapped, gritting his teeth and staring down at the man. The maintenance man walked over to where Egon, Janine, and Vinz stood in front of the containment grid. Hope backed up to the desk, crossing her arms over her chest.

"My friend, don't be a jerk!" Peter stepped in front of the man, holding a hand on his chest to stop him. The cop pulled Peter away like he had with Hope.

"If he does that again, you can shoot him." Peck gave a sick sort of grin at his comment. The cop's head snapped to him as his eyes narrowed.

"You do your job, pencil neck, don't tell me how to do mine!" The cop's head snapped to Peck as he yelled at him.

"I want it shut off now!" Peck screamed and looked to the maintenance man. The man moved in front of the grid as Egon and the others slowly moved away. Egon demonstrated to Hope and Peter that when it was turned off an explosion would occur.

Hope slowly made her way to the stairs and stepped up carefully, Peter following behind her. The maintenance man raised a hand to the large shut off lever, looking back at Hope, Peter, and Egon with a glance Hope knew as 'should I really be doing this?'. Hope shook her head slowly and mouthed 'no' to him as she felt Peter's hand by her side, pushing against her hip to make her move further up the stairs.

"SHUT IT OFF!" Peck yelled and the maintenance man threw the lever off on the grid and all the lights but a red one went off. An alarm sounded and everyone looked around nervously as other noises joined it.

"Run!" Hope felt Peter grab her hand and pull her along behind him as they all ran up the steps and into the garage. Hope looked back at Egon and Janine, seeing their hands clasped together. She tripped over her own feet and fell to the floor, Peter's hand slipping out of hers. She slid a few inches on her jean knees while Peter tried to turn around and grab her again. Hope picked herself up, her converses slipping and squeaking against the smooth cement as she tried to begin running again.

"Are you alright!?" Egon called out to her as wrapped his arms around her waist, directing her to run towards the front of the building. Egon's arms fell and he grabbed her hand instead, gripping it tightly while they ran through the front door of the building together.

Just as they all made it out an explosion occurred within the building, bursting from the roof in a ray of bright lights. Ash, soot, and dirt flew down from the explosion, covering them all and everyone in the streets in white and gray.

"Oh my God..." Hope whispered as she stared at the bright red lights that flew towards the sky. She could hear screams and maleficent laughing, knowing that none of it came from the people in the streets around her. It was all the ghosts, spooks, and specters both good and bad that had been released back into the world, knowing they had free reign once again.

Hope's grip on Egon's hand tightened as she pulled herself closer to him. Egon wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him as a flash wind blew by. Egon hugged her tightly against him, protecting her from everything the flash wind blew in the air.

Once the wind was over Egon tried to let her go, but found that her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist. He laid his hands on her back again, rubbing her back gently. The familiar sound of the Ghostbuster's car siren pulled up and footsteps could be heard running around the streets.

"Hope! Hope, where are you!?!" Hope's head lifted from hiding in Egon's chest and over to where she spotted Ray and Winston running for them, "What the hell happened here?"

"Storage facility blew." Egon answered as he loosened his grip on Hope somewhat, but still kept her close to him. He looked behind them and pointed to Walter Peck, "He shut off the protection grid."

"Oh great...are you two alright?" Ray asked as he looked between Hope and Egon, trying to fight the small smile at seeing them acting like normal again. Hope nodded her head and gave her own small smile, ash and dirt smudged on her face.

"Whenever am I not alright with Egon around?" She asked sarcastically as she dusted ash from her hair and clothing. She stopped as a thought popped into her head. She looked left and right and even behind her before looking back at the guys, "Where's the Keymaster!? Where the hell is Vinz!?"

"Oh no! Shit!" Hope's attention was immediately drawn to Egon by his sudden out burst. Hope gave a wide grin, liking the idea of Egon cursing. Ray looked at Hope and then to Egon, confused as to who they had been talking about.

"Who's the Keymaster?" He asked as Egon took Hope's hand as they began jogging to find Louis.

"HOLD IT!" Walter Peck grabbed Hope, tearing her from Egon's grip. Several cops moved closer, watching and listening in. Peck Pointed a finger at Egon, "I want this man arrested!"

"Arrested for what!? You're the one that caused the explosion!" Hope snarled as she tried to rip herself from Peck's grip on her.

"Let her go!" Egon snapped as he tried to grab Hope back, angry with the situation. Two cops rushed forward and grabbed Egon, restraining him.

"Let my sister go!" Ray stepped in when he noticed Peck had a hold of her. Peck gave a sinister smirk and looked over at the captain of the police.

"Captain, these men are in criminal violation of the Environmental Protection Act!" Peck gripped both of Hope's arms, keeping her situated in front of himself, "And this explosion is a direct result of it!"

Peck went on to say a few more things while Hope looked at Egon, who was struggling against the cops holding him. Still trying to free herself she gave him a small smile.

"It's okay." She whispered out gently as Egon began to calm down, "I'm alright."

"I want them all arrested!" Peck shouted, earning the Ghostbusters attention again, "Including this girl!"

"What!?" Ray shouted and tried to get to peck as cops grabbed his arms while Egon began struggling against the cops holding him once more. Hope looked at Egon again and gave a wink.

"It's alright. As long as it's not the ward." Hope spoke softly to Egon as he gave her a dejected look, not liking the idea of her going anywhere he wasn't.

"I want the girl sent to St. Andrew's for an evaluation! I think these scam artists have brainwashed her!" Peck shouted out after listening to Hope's words to Egon. Egon's normal warm chocolate eyes began to burn and blaze as he fought harder to get free.

"YOUR MOTHER!" Egon snarled as he lurched forward. Hope couldn't be sure whether Egon was trying to get to her or to peck, but the sight of his outburst made her inwardly smile none the less.

"Arrest them all!" The captain announced as more cops began pulling at each one of the Ghostbusters. Hope's brain realized what was happening and where she was going to be taken off to. Her small look of content faded as she began to fret, fear rising within her.

"No...Anywhere but the ward! Get off of me!" Hope screamed as peck began pulling her away from the guys. Hope turned this way and that, kicking and screaming, "Ray! Egon! Let go of me! Let go!"

"Hope!" Egon called out as he fought to get to her. Hope managed to spring free and ran at Egon, wrapping her arms around him in a death grip. Egon wrapped his own around her when he felt Peck pulling her away from him again, "No! Leave her alone!"

"Egon!" Hope screamed as Peck dragged her off and stuck her inside of a cop car. Hope tried opening the door, but found it locked and herself stuck. She stared out the window at the car Egon had been put into and hit the window, screaming for someone to let her out.

Egon looked out his own window and spotted her, feeling awful as he tried to get out of the car he was in. Hope's eyes teared as she began to cry, hitting the window harder and screamed on deaf ears to be let go.

"No! I'm not crazy! I don't need to be in a ward! Let me out!" She screamed as tears fell down her cheeks, memories of her mother and what had happened to her at the ward filling her head. Egon's car pulled away, though Hope didn't notice because she was in such a frenzy. The police captain climbed into the front seat of the car Hope was in and started the engine.

Slowly the car pulled away, Hope quieting down and crying softly to herself and mumbling that she wasn't crazy.

"Don't worry Miss. The doctors at St. Andrew's are real nice. They'll take good care of you." The chief spoke up, looking at Hope in the rear view mirror. Hope ignored his words and placed her head in her hands as sobs racked her body at the fear of being emitted into a psych ward.

They arrived at the hospital and she was emitted into St. Andrew's Mental Health Facility, awaiting to be evaluated.

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Just want to say that even though Hope clung to Egon in the chaos that she still hasn't forgiven him completely. They're going to have their little heart to heart soon, so don't worry.

- Win


	19. Chapter 19: Hi Lenny

**{~Stay Puft~}**

Hope had seen the doctor already and was now in a small room where only a cot sat, waiting to hear of any news either about herself or the boys. She laid on the cot and the sorry excuse for a pillow in the same clothes she had come in wearing.

Her mind drifted back to her 'evaluation' and the strange questions the doctor had asked. For the most part she had kept her mouth shut, not wanting to dig herself into a deeper hole.

Hope turned to her side and stared at the white wall across from her, thinking of the boys and what was going on with them. She pulled her legs up closer to her, pushing her hands underneath the pillow. She closed her eyes and fell into a light sleep.

The lock on the door clicked and was pulled open. The doctor walked in and watched Hope as she sat up on the cot, staring back at him.

"Come with me Miss Stantz." The doctor spoke softly, a clipboard at his side. Hope stood up slowly and followed him out of the room. They walked down the hall and stopped at the main doors Hope had been dragged through when she was being emitted.

"What's going on?" Hope asked, confused at why the doctor was leading her this way. The doctor stopped by the doors and opened them to reveal two cops.

"We're releasing you." He answered as the cops came over, "And frankly Miss Stantz, I don't think you belong here."

The doctor gave her a small smile while the cops took Hope by her arms, leading her out the main doors. They placed her into the back of their car and drove off to an unknown location.

"Where are you taking me?" Hope asked as she watched building after building pass by. Neither of the cops responded and turned up their radio, "Where the hell are you taking me!?"

The car stopped in front of the Gracie Manor and the two cops hopped out, opening Hope's door. They kept a firm hold on her as they walked her into the Manor, kicking and struggling.

"Tell me where your leading me!" Hope called out, watching the people they passed, "Where's my brother!? Let me see Ray!"

The officers dragged Hope down a long hallway as people opened their office doors to see what all the yelling was about. On seeing Hope and the cops they quickly shut their doors again. Hope fought against the cops, flailing this way and that to get away.

A door opened at the end of the hall and Hope could see the mayor of the city in the room. Hope was dragged inside, her feet dragging the entire time as she screamed.

"Hope!" Hope's eyes landed on Ray. She tore from the officers and ran to him, her arms wrapping tightly around him. He pulled her into a tight hug and then held her at arms length, "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"No I'm fine. They just asked me some questions." Hope smiled as Ray let her go. She looked over at Egon and quickly wrapped her arms around him tightly. Egon slowly wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him and feeling better knowing that she was alright.

"Enough is enough." The mayor announced as Hope pulled away from Egon, "Where's this Peck?"

"Peck! I am Walter Peck sir." Walter moved passed everyone else in the room and stood several feet away from the mayor, "And I am prepared to make a full report."

"I'm sure you are." Hope snapped and crossed her arms over her chest. Peck glared at her and then pointed to each of the Ghostbusters.

"These _people_ are snowball artists. They use sense and nerve gases to induce hallucinations. People think they're seeing ghosts and they call these frauds, who conveniently show up to deal with the problem using a fake electronic light show."peck's voice had raised towards the end of his speech as he straightened his suit jacket, calming himself down.

"Your honor. Our system was working fine until the power grid was shut down by wally wick here." Ray stated as he looked over at Peck.

"They caused an explosion!" Peck snapped, staring at each of the Ghostbusters. The mayor looked over at the Ghostbusters, face blank and uninterested.

"Is this true?" He asked no one in particular. Hope looked down at her feet, not wanting to be the one to answer the question.

"Yes sir, it's true." Peter started as he took a step forward, "This man is some kind of rodent, I don't know which."

"Why you!" Peck lunged at Peter, who hid behind the two officers that had brought Hope into the room. The mayor scowled as did the rest of the Ghostbusters for Peter's behavior.

"Enough! Break it up! Break it up!" The mayor yelled as everyone tried to pry the two from each other. Peck stormed back to his original position as did Peter, "This is city hall! Now what am I going to to do here?"

No one answered, but looked to each other as though awaiting one of them to answer. The door to the room opened and a man dressed in fine robes stalked in, a smile on his face and reaching his eyes.

"Good afternoon gentlemen." The bishop around the room and stopped at Hope, "And ladies."

The mayor's expression lifted as the bishop headed to him. The mayor kissed the bishop's ring, bowing a little.

"How are you Lenny?" The bishop gave a small laugh, folding his hands in front of himself.

"You're looking good Monty. We're in a real bind here." The mayor gave the bishop a friendly tap on the cheek and then let his hands rest on his hips. Hope sighed, not knowing why so many people had come to the little 'meeting' at city hall. Ray wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he gave her a bored look.

"Lenny, officially the church will not take a part on the religious implications this event has placed on it." The bishop answered as he sat down on one of the many chairs in the room, "Personally Lenny...I think it's a sign from God."

"They can call it whatever they want. It's going to be trouble none the less." Hope commented quietly as she recrossed her arms over her chest.

"Well I'm not about to call a press conference and tell everyone to start praying." The mayor concluded as he sat down behind his desk. Winston moved passed the others, grabbing a hold of hope along the way, and walked to the front of the mayor's desk.

"Um, I'm a Winston Zeddmore, your honor, and this is Hope Stantz." Winston pushed Hope forward and she smiled sheepishly, unsure what Winston was up to. The mayor looked behind the two and pointed to Ray.

"That the brother you were screaming for?" He asked with a joking tone hidden in his voice. Hope gave a nervous laugh and nodded her head, uncomfortable.

"Your honor, I've only been with the company for a couple of weeks and Hope, well, she's the biggest nonbeliever I've ever known." Winston started, taking a moment to look over at Hope who nodded her head, "But I've got to tell you. These things are real. We've seen things that'll turn you white!"

Hope let out a whole hearted laugh, knowing that Winston hadn't meant anything racial with the comment, but that the other men in the room had taken it that way.

"What Winston means is that what we do isn't a sham." Hope cleared as she looked up at Winston with a grin, "It's all legit."

Peter stepped forward as Hope and Winston stepped back, Hope taking her place beside Ray and Egon again.

"You can either believe Pecker," He began as Peck's face contorted at the nickname.

"My name's Peck! Walter **Peck**!" He scowled. Peter ignored the comment from him and looked at the mayor.

"Or you could except the fact that this city is heading for disaster of _biblical _proportions." Peter finished and sighed. Hope looked at Peter, confused as to why it would be 'biblical' and then looked back at the mayor who was thinking about what had been said.

"Biblical? What do you mean biblical?" The mayor asked as he leaned forward in his chair to lean on his desk.

"He means Old Testament type of stuff. Real wrath of God horror." Ray stepped forward, enthusiasm hidden in his voice, "Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky. Seas boiling."

"Forty years of darkness, earthquakes, volcano eruptions." Egon move forward as well to stand beside him.

"Dead rising from the grave!" Winston chimed in before moving beside Peter.

"Plagues and curses." Hope commented as she moved in between Egon and Ray, lacing her arms with theirs.

"Cats and dogs living together! Mass hysteria!" Peter yelled while Hope looked over at him, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Cats and dogs living together, Pete?" Hope asked softly as he gave her a pointed look, telling her to be quiet.

"Enough, alright!?" The mayor yelled as he stood and walked around his desk, "I get the picture...but what if you're wrong?"

"We'll all go to jail." Hope spoke up and earned a stern look from Ray and Egon. She grit her teeth and looked at each of them, "Quietly and peacefully."

"Speak for yourself, Princess." Peter threw in, "But if we're right...Lenny, you will have saved the lives of MILLIONS of registered voters."

The mayor looked at each of them, considering what they were offering and also liking the idea of having voters on his side for another year.

"You're not actually thinking about-" Peck began, but stopped when he saw the look the mayor had on his face towards him. The room fell silent and then the mayor pointed to Peck.

"Get him out of here." The order was short, but soon Walter Peck was being escorted out of the room, kicking and screaming the same way Hope had come in.

"I'm going to get you Venkman!" Peck hissed as he fought against the escorts.

"I'm going to get you a fruit basket." Peter clasped his hands together and looked back at the rest of the Ghostbusters, "I'm going to _miss_ him."

"You're such a clown." Hope laughed as she watched Peter grinning from ear to ear. He gave a small shrug, pretending to take it as a compliment.

"We have some work to do." The groups attention was brought back to the mayor, "Now what do you need from me?"

"You really shouldn't have offered that." Hope stated with a grin as she watched the guys think, having a few ideas of her own.

"Well there are," Peter paused as he looked back at the others and then turned back to the mayor, "a _few_ things we could use."

"...I'm not going to like this...am I?" The mayor asked slowly, seeing the grins on each of their faces.

"Most likely not." Hope laughed as she looked up at Ray and then Egon. She smiled softly at him and then followed behind him as they all walked from the room and down the hall.


	20. Chapter 20: Explainations

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the back up. HTML you're a douche so suck it! Now that that's out of my system I want to apologize to my loyal fans. To me this chapter kind of came out funny and I don't like it too much so please bare with me. I might redo it.

* * *

**{~Stay Puft~}**

Hope stepped out from the room she had been led to so she could change into her uniform that Janine had rushed over with. She finished zipping it up and pulled the hair band out she had stuck in one of the many pockets on the suit. She suddenly tipped upside down and began pulling her hair together, holding the band in her mouth.

"Worried about your precious hair, Princess?" Peter asked as he walked passed her in his own suit. Hope gave a small laugh and tied her hair, flipping back up.

"Why of course. I'm only woman after all." She called after him as the Ray and Winston came down the hall. Hope looked at Ray with a smile, placing her hands on her hips, "I think I should get a haircut."

"Why? It looks fine." Ray spoke up and placed his hands into his pockets. Hope gave a shrug and looked behind him, seeing the empty hall. She looked back at the two, a question popping into her head.

"Where's Egon?" She asked suddenly, looking between the men. They gave a small shrug and looked at each other.

"Probably still in the room." Winston suggested and then walked passed her, Ray following.

"Go check on him, will you?" Ray called after her as he turned down another hall. Hope stood for a moment longer, expecting to see Egon walk out of his room. When he didn't she sighed heavily and trudge to the door, knocking twice.

"Egon?" She called softly, leaning her head against the door. She tapped her nails against the white wood, waiting for a reply. None came and so she walked in. The room was similar to how hers had been with a couch in the middle and a desk towards one side. She looked towards the windows and spotted Egon tugging on something in front of him. She gave a small laugh and closed the door, "What are you doing?"

Egon spun around to face her like a kid who had been caught with the cookie jar before supper. She gave a small laugh and realized what was wrong, seeing the zipper to is suit caught up with his shirt.

"Having some trouble?" She smiled and walked forward, pushing her sleeves back to her elbows.

"I've got it." Egon stated when Hope stood before him, staring up at him. She nodded her head with a gleam in her eyes.

"Uh huh. I can see that." Hope spoke softly and took the zipper in her hands. She gently tugged on it, pulling up and down to have it release his shirt, but it was stubborn. Without meaning to she stuck her tongue out a little as she concentrated on the zipper.

Egon stared down at her through his glasses, hands clenched by his sides. He was uncomfortable especially since this was the closest they had been near each other since the hug earlier and the 'kiss incident' several days ago. He swallowed hard as he thought back to that day and the way she had looked at him after he pulled back.

He knew he had hurt her and, though she would probably never believe him about it, it hurt him too. He wanted to kiss her, hold her, do everything a man can do to the woman he cares about, but he was afraid.

He wasn't confident or outspoken like she was or like the guys she dated were. He wasn't muscular or drop dead handsome like them either. He didn't play a sport or dance or do any of the things that guys like Evan or Clark did. He was the complete opposite.

He collected spores, molds, and fungi for a hobby and created knew inventions. He had an IQ over 160 and studied paranormal activity. He was tall and lanky and awkward. He wasn't who Hope wanted or even what she deserved. She deserved someone who could be everything she needed and then some.

"God..." Hope gave a small laugh as she continued to struggle with the zipper. Egon blinked several times, coming back from his thoughts, "What did you do?"

"I made a mistake." He replied. Hope gave another small laugh and shook her head, tugging the zipper to go down.

"Everyone makes mistakes Egon." She retorted and re-gripped his suit, trying to pull the zipper up. Egon thought over that sentence and then looked back down upon her.

"I'm sorry." Egon spoke gently as his eyes softened.

"Why? It's your suit. You could paint it purple and it wouldn't matter to me." Hope laughed again as she pulled the zipper down with all her might. The zipper caved and zipped down, releasing Egon's shirt, "There we go."

Hope smiled and pulled the zipper up slowly, careful not to get it caught on his shirt again. She zipped it all the way up and smiled brightly, flattening out the suit's shoulders on Egon's. Egon's hands caught hers and pulled them down to rest between them.

Hope's eyebrows knitted together as she stared at their hands a moment longer and then looked up at Egon, confused. Egon only stared back, feeling his chest tighten as she studied him. Hope looked back at their hands again and then passed them, thinking.

"You weren't...talking about the zipper...were you?" Hope asked softly, realizing what Egon had been trying to get at. Hope slowly slid her hands out of Egon's.

"No." Egon stated and kept his eyes glued to her. Hope gave a small scoff not wanting to talk about the subject. It had been all she had thought about for days and had finally just begun to forget about it. She headed for the door until Egon found his voice "Can we please discuss this?"

"Discuss what?" Hope snapped, turning back to look at him, "What's there to discuss Egon?"

She shook her head and looked to her right, trying to calm herself. She rubbed her forehead and then let her arm drop to her side.

"I thought you felt the same way that I feel about you, but I was wrong. You made that very clear when you rejected me." Hope remembered how she felt very well. The sadness, the rejection, the embarrassment...all of it came back to her. She looked back at him again, looking her eyes with his.

"Hope, I didn't-"

"I felt foolish Egon!" Hope yelled, cutting Egon off. She closed her mouth again, feeling tears in her eyes, "I felt like a fool for actually believing that you felt something for me! I took a leap, believing that someone would be there to catch me!"

"I promised I would catch you but-"

"Then why didn't you!?" Hope asked exasperatedly, her voice sad. She wiped her cheeks, feeling the warm wet tears that had fallen down them. She looked down at her feet a moment and then lifted her gaze to him, "I liked you a lot. I feel more for you then I ever did Evan. After all the laughs and smiles and heart to hearts we've had, do you even feel the same way about me? Even a little?"

Hope stared at him, hoping he would say something to erase what had happened.

"I like you..." Egon responded, his tone soft and unsure. Hope crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. That was not the answer she had been looking for.

"Then why didn't you kiss me?" She asked, feeling a hiccup surfacing in her throat from her tears. Egon looked down at the floor, thinking over his answer. Hope waited a moment and then another, quickly believing that he was never going to answer her back, "Fine. Keep your secrets."

Hope gave him one last look, their eyes meeting and then turned towards the door.

"I've never kissed a girl before." Egon's voice was soft, almost a whisper. Hope froze before the door and then looked back at him, her tears stopped and face disbelieving.

"What?" She asked slowly, taking a step away from the door. Egon swallowed the lump in his throat and looked anywhere but at her.

"I've never...kissed anyone...before." He repeated, quickly becoming less confident in his reveal. Hope's expression softened and went indifferent, unsure if he was jesting with her.

"Egon...this is cruel if you're trying to joke with me right now." Hope spoke up, recrossing her arms over her chest. Egon met her eyes for a single moment and she saw it in his eyes. He wasn't joking at all.

"You're serious..." Hope whispered and licked her lips, "Oh..."

She moved towards the couch in the room and sat down on it. She leaned her right arm on her legs and let her chin rest in her palm, looking out across the room. She licked her lips again and sat up straighter, looking towards Egon.

"You didn't want me to be your first kiss?" Hope asked, still confused by why he didn't kiss her, why he still wasn't making a move. Egon looked over at her and shook his head.

"No, I just..." Egon fell silent, completely uncomfortable with the situation he had started. Hope watched him and saw the familiar look of inner struggle on his face.

"Egon, look at me." Hope piped up. Egon didn't and so she stood from her seat, moving closer to him, "Look at me."

She placed a hand against his cheek and made him look at her.

"What is it?" She asked softly, letting her hand fall.

"What if it wasn't...what you thought it would be?" Egon asked carefully, swallowing another lump that had formed in his throat.

"What?" Hope's eyebrows knitted together as she stared up at him.

"What if it was bad?" Egon clarified, his heart beating faster. Hope stared at him as she tried to pull everything together inside her head.

"You were worried about...giving me a bad...kiss?" She asked slowly, trying to wrap her head around the idea. It's Egon- she thought and gave a small half laugh. This was the first time she had ever witnessed Egon worry about something so trivial, something so...unimportant. It's important to him obviously- Hope corrected herself as she continued to stare at him, "How do you know?"

Egon looked back at her, face contorting somewhat as he took his turn to look confused.

"How do you know you're a bad kisser if you've never tried?" Hope clarified. This was one of those times Egon didn't have an answer. Hope knew she had beat him fair and square and there was nothing he could do.

"I just didn't want it to be a deciding factor is I am bad." Egon looked down at the floor and Hope couldn't help her stern look from softening into a small smile. She dropped her arms from across her chest, feeling a little better.

"Do you want to kiss me?" Hope asked, knowing she was pushing his uncomfortable button.

"...yes." Egon replied after a moment, looking back at her. Hope was a little happier. At least she now knew that he **did **indeed want to kiss her, but was afraid.

"If I forgive you..." Hope began slowly moving closer to him. Egon watched her as his chest tightened all over again and his heart sped up like a fast beating drum. Hope stopped a foot before him and stared up at him, "...would you be willing to try?"

She bit her lip, feeling a small blush creep across her cheeks. The butterflies slowly flapped in her stomach as she waited for him to answer. He looked down at her, a little shocked by what she was asking of him or more _implying _what she wanted him to do. Hope tried to hold back the grin threatening to spread across her lips.

She slowly placed her arms on his shoulder, her right hand brushing against the bottom of his hair. Egon swallowed hard, feeling the same feelings he had the last time they almost kissed. Hope leaned up closer to him and as she inched forward towards his lips she closed her eyes.

"Hey! Beauty and the geek, come on!" Peter's voice surfaced from the hall outside the room, drawing their attention to the door. Hope cursed Peter's existence in her head and looked back at Egon with a small smile.

"We'll continue later?" She asked softly as she let her arms drop. Egon gave a small nod, seeing as he couldn't find his voice to say yes. Hope gave him a gentle smile and walked to the door. He followed her and they met the others down the hall.


	21. Chapter 21: Dark Clouds

Hey guys! Wanted to warn you that I won't be updating for a couple of days. Sorry, but I promise that when I get back this story will end and the final instalment to this series will begin. Thanks!

* * *

**{~Stay Puft~}**

They were all led outside the Gracie Manor and were taken off the the side where the road sat. Parked along the road were army trucks with soldiers piling into them. Hope's eyes went wide at how much the mayor was bending over backwards for them and their demands.

"Wow. I think Lenny's the one we should send a fruit basket to." She smiled and looked at Ray, who stood beside her. They walked over to the familiar white car with a ghost printed on the side of it as news and New Yorkers cheered for them. Hope waved to some as she passed and opened the back door of the car. She looked to Egon, who walked up behind her, "They're cheering for you."

"I think it's you they're cheering for." Egon returned and looked down at her. Hope gave a small laugh and shook her head as she waved to more of the cheering fans.

"Nope...it's you." Hope spoke as she then gave a laugh. Her eyes landed on the familiar brunette that was rushing through the crowd of people.

"Egon! Egon!" Janine called out, causing Hope to become irritated. Janine walked over from the large crowd and up to Egon, ignoring Hope completely and acting as though she was invisible, "Oh Egon! I thought I was going to miss you."

Hope's jaw clenched as she slammed the car door and crossed her arms over her chest. Janine looked to her, "Would you mind giving us a moment, Hope?"

"...No. Not at all." Hope gave a sarcastic smile and walked to where Peter stood, signing autographs like he was some sort of superstar.

"Smile Princess." Peter called as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side as he smiled brightly. A light flashed as a reporter took a picture, followed by another and then another. She looked over her shoulder at Egon and Janine, spotting something small in her hand that she held up.

"Take this." Janine held up the small object in her right hand before them.

"What is it?" Egon took it and examined it, trying to figure out what it was exactly and why on earth she was giving it to him.

"It's a souvenir from the World's Fair in Wishing Meadow in 1964." Janine explained with a small smile as she looked down at her feet for a moment before looking back up at him.

"She's moving in on your geek, Princess." Peter commented as he turned himself and Hope around to look at Egon and Janine.

"It's my lucky coin." Janine gave a small smile as Egon removed his eyes from the trinket and to her. From where Hope stood she could see the somewhat uninterested gleam in Egon's eyes, making her smile.

"I shouldn't take it. I might not be coming back." Egon started, trying to give her back the coin.

"Take it anyway. I got another one at home." Janine pushed his hand back, her voice quavering a little. She moved forward and hugged Egon, who hugged her back. Hope watched the scene and even though she felt sorry for Janine because Egon had told Hope that he didn't like the secretary, she was jealous.

"You're not gonna do anything?" Peter asked, dropping his arm from around Hope. He looked down at her and all she could do was look down at her feet.

"Why?" Hope asked softly as she looked back at the pair, "After all he is _my _geek and he knows it."

"Um, don't girls usually fight when another woman lays a finger on their man?" Peter gave a small scoff and looked back at Egon and Janine. He looked back at Hope and then broke away from her, straightening himself up, "Do I gotta do everything?"

Peter walked away and towards the pair, leaving Hope standing on her own and laughing at what she could only dream that Peter was about to do.

"Hey! Didn't your parents tell you never get involved with a Ghostbuster?" Peter pulled Janine back from Egon, waving a finger at her. Egon looked somewhat pleased and straightened himself out, "Now go on home. Egon come 'ere."

Peter finished as Janine walked away, eyes somewhat sad and all Hope could do was turn around as she passed her and try to hold back her grin. Hope walked to the car and behind Egon. She quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling herself flush against his back as her hands rested on his chest and belly. A wide grin spread across her face as she relished the feeling and of course the victory.

Egon went stiff with the feel of her against him. He swallowed hard and felt his face heat up with a blush. Peter gave a small laugh and walked away, leaving Hope and Egon alone. Hope let out a loud sigh, knowing that she had made him uncomfortable.

"You'd think you would be used to me hugging you by now." Hope laughed and tightened her grip on him, closing her eyes. Egon slowly relaxed into her hold on him and gently pat her arms, taking notice to the gazes they were getting from the people around, which only made his blush deepen.

"Come on! Let's run some red lights!" Peter called out from the driver's window, patting the car on its side. Hope let go of Egon and hopped into the car, her ponytail swaying from left to right as she did so. Egon climbed in after her, sitting across from her while she sat beside Ray.

The police motorcycles revved up in front of the car and slowly pulled out, the Ecto-1 following behind them. The car ride was bumpy, since of course Peter was driving, and Hope as well as Ray and Egon had to hold on to something to keep from flying out of the car.

When they arrived at Dana's apartment building a whole crowd of people were waiting behind roadblocks, cheering for them. They stepped out of the car, greeting their ever excited fans with bright smiles and waves. Hope grabbed a hold of Egon's hand, knowing he was slightly uncomfortable with the attention from the people and hoping that if he knew she was right there he would relax.

He looked down at her and gave her hand a squeeze, reassuring himself that everything would be alright. Hope smiled at him and then looked back at the crowds, waving with her free hand.

The Ghostbusters stood in front of the building, each staring up at the black cloud that swirled above it menacingly. Egon looked beside him at Hope, seeing her swallow hard as she stared up at the building with fear in her eyes.

"Are you alright...?" Egon asked as he looked back at the cloud. Hope nodded her head, her own eyes unable to move from it as she felt her hands shake.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked as she bit her bottom lip nervously. Egon looked at her from the corner of his eyes and then at their hands, seeing them shake.

"Because you frighten easily." He stated simply as Hope removed her eyes from the cloud and looked at him. She stared into Egon's eyes and saw the he knew what she was a feeling.

"Alright...maybe I am a little." She swallowed hard again and licked her lips.

Suddenly lightening clashed overhead and the wind picked up, blowing Hope's ponytail harshly in it. Hope squeezed Egon's hand with both of hers, moving closer to him. Egon returned the squeeze as a roar of thunder sounded from overhead.

Parts from the building began falling as sections of the street began rising up and sinking into the ground below. Hope fought to keep balance as a section of road opened up in front of her and the others. She felt Egon's grip on her hand slip as the ground beneath him and the others collapsed, causing them to fall into the earth and a car to fall on top of them.

"EGON! RAY!" Hope screamed out as she stared at the abyss, fear clutching her heart. People screamed as more parts from the building fell, crashing to the ground in heaps. Hope swallowed a lump that formed in her throat as her eyes stayed transfixed on the abyss, "Winston! Pete!"

More sections of road collapsed as people ran, trying to escape from falling into the earth. Water spurted up into the air as fire hydrants exploded, cascading down like rain. Steam rose up from the parts of the road that had collapsed, obscuring views.

As quickly as the chaos had come it left, leaving everyone frightened and shaken. Hope stood still, her mouth slightly agape at what had just happened.

"Egon! Ray! Come on you guys!" Hope yelled out towards where they had fallen through the road. One moment he had been standing beside her and the next he was gone. Just like that. She felt tears prickle her eyes and looked around, not knowing what to do. Her breathing hitched in her throat as she wiped a tear away from her cheek.

People stood up from falling to the ground and each one shared the same expression with each other. Hope stepped back from the edge where her brother, her almost lover, and friends had fallen. She began breathing deeply to keep herself from crying, but began to fail as more tears welded up in her eyes.

"Where are they...?"

"What happened...?"

"Is she okay..."

Hope looked around at the people that stared at her, pointing and whispering about her and the boys. She looked back at the abyss and fell to the ground on her knees.

"Egon...Ray..." Hope whispered as tears began falling from her eyes and rolling slowly down her pale cheeks. The whispers around her became more frequent and louder while Hope was lost to staring at the rip in the earth before her.

"Look there..."

"What is that...?"

"Is that them...?"

Hope heard the small whispers from the people around her, but ignored them, not caring for anything at the moment. She looked up at the dark clouds in the sky and laced her hands on top of her head as she felt more tears fall down her cheeks.

"It's them! There they are! Look!" A woman called out as the citizens began to cheer again. Hope looked back at the rip and spotted Ray crawling from the separation in the road. Hope's breath hitched and she bolted for her brother, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Hope...Are you alright...?" Ray gave a few small coughs from the debris floating around in the air and hugged her back, knowing that he had given her a scare.

"Yes." Hope wiped the heartbroken tears that had slid down her cheeks and felt herself weld up again with happy tears instead. Hope spotted Egon pull himself up from the abyss and as soon as he was on his feet she ran at him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, nearly causing him to fall to the ground.

"I was so scared..." Hope cried as she closed her eyes tightly and gripped at the back of his head. She gave a small sob and hid her face in his shoulder, her hands clutching him tightly. Egon wrapped his arms around her tightly and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He had also been scared, not about himself so much as about Hope.

He had fallen, but what had happened to her? Had she fallen into another hole? Was she hurt? Was she unconscious? Or worse?

Egon tightened his grip on her, holding her flush against him as though if he were to let go he might be back in that hole again, fear of her safety pulsing through him once more.

"I thought I lost you..." Hope cried out softly as she kissed his cheek, once, twice, three times and leaned her head against his. Her face was tear stained and flushed from her crying, "Before I even had a chance to have you..."

Egon took a deep breath and let it out slowly, enjoying the feeling of her holding him and her words. Hope kissed his cheek again and then again, over and over as she let her tears escape her. She then pulled him closer once more, laying her head against his shoulder.

"Hope, I need to tell you something." Egon whispered out and pulled back from her a little. Hope stared up at him with the clearest deep blue eyes he had ever seen though tears still rolled down her cheeks. He fell silent and was lost in a trance, his heart beating like a drum within his chest.

"What?" Hope asked gently, her eyes looking between his. She felt her heart beat slower as she awaited what he would say. She laced her tingling hands behind his neck as the butterflies flapped around in her belly restless and anxious. Her hand mindlessly played with his hair as she bit her bottom lip. She knew what he was going to say. She knew because she felt the same way. She smiled softly and placed her other hand against his cheek, "Say it Egon...Please."

Egon swallowed hard and took a deep breath, readying himself for what he was about to do and prayed that she took it well.

"Hope...I-"

"Hey! We got some spooks to fry!" Peter called out from the back of the car where he and the other two had already gotten their packs on. Hope looked at them a moment longer and then at Egon, waiting for him to say what he wanted to tell her.

_Rule number ten: Always remind those you love that you love them and tell those who don't that you do._

"It can wait." Egon spoke up finally, Hope's heart falling a little at their moment being cut short before it had really begun.

"...o-okay..." She gave a small nod, understanding that they had something they needed to accomplish, but hated it. She followed him to the back of the car and pulled out her pack. Egon watched Hope lift her pack, holding his hands beneath it if it were to fall.

"Got it?" Egon asked gently as Hope struggled to lift the pack onto her back. She shook her head at him, telling him she needed help. He grabbed the pack and lifted it up some as she slipped her arms through the straps for her shoulders.

"Thank you." She sniffed out, wiping the last of her tears away, and stepped back so he could get his own pack. They carefully walked to the apartment building's front doors and waited a moment. Hope slipped her hand into Egon's and looked up at him, her eyes telling him she was afraid of what was waiting for them.

Each of them took a deep breath and then plunged into the unknown that awaited them.


	22. Chapter 22: She's A Dog

**{~Stay Puft~}**

"What floor are we on now?" Hope asked as she trudged up the stairs behind Ray and Egon. She could hear Peter huffing from the back of the group as they kept onwards. She gripped the railing of the stairs tightly as she forced herself to climb higher, her legs wobbling.

"Somewhere...in the...teens I think." Ray responded as they all stopped to take a ten second breather. Hope leaned her head on Egon's back, her legs feeling like jelly and her throat dry. She took rushed breath after rushed breath, trying to ease the strain in her lungs.

"When we reach twenty, tell me." Peter called up and then took several deep breaths, "Ugh...I'm going to throw up."

Hope gave a small laugh at Peter's never ending trail of witty comments and stood up straight, ready to proceed. They began climbing again, each step being forced as they slowly went higher in the building. No one talked, only the sounds of their huffing and wheezing filled the stairwell.

"Ah-hahaha!" Hope squealed as she spotted the posting for the twenty-second floor. She ran passed Egon and Ray to the sign. She gave it one quick kiss and leaned against the wall, breathing deeply. When the guys caught up to her they all moved into the hallway, the place completely trashed.

"Art deco. Very nice." Egon commented on the architecture as he stepped beside Hope.

"How can you tell?" Hope asked, trying to find a decent piece of wall to see if he was right.

"I get paid to see spots in old art that no one else can." Egon gave a small smirk and walked onwards. Hope watched him as he went, her mouth hung open. He had just made a slam towards her. She couldn't believe it. She followed down the hall after him, nudging him lightly when she had caught up.

"What apartment is hers?" Hope called out to Peter as she stared at the doors she passed.

"End of the hall. On the left." Peter answered drained from the adventure of climbing the stairs. Hope felt someone nudge her gently and looked up at Egon. She smiled softly at him as Ray led them all down the hall and to Dana's apartment.

"There." Peter pointed to a door and moved to the front of the group. He placed his hand on the door knob and pushed gently, but gently was too hard and the door fell to the ground inside the apartment.

"Oh my God..." Hope whispered as she looked in. The apartment was worse then the hallway seeing as half of it was missing completely from the building. Chairs were thrown and ripped apart. Papers flew here and there. It was destroyed.

Carefully, each of them walked into the room, taking in everything around it.

"Well...at least there's a nice view." Hope spoke softly to herself, but knew everyone had heard her when she locked eyes with Peter. He gave her a blank stare and then shook his head, walking away somberly. Hope watched him and her eyes landed on Ray.

"Ray, look!" She called to him and pointed to the doorway beside him. He looked through it and then back into the room, his eyes finding Peter.

"Hey, where do these stairs go?" Peter's head snapped back to him, his eyes showing his confusion.

"What stairs?" He asked as he jogged to where Ray stood. Hope, Winston, and Egon followed a second after. Peter gave a 'hm' and moved forward, "They go up of course."

Hope looked at Peter disapprovingly of his not so witty comeback towards Ray. He walked into the room and began to make his way towards the stairs when a bolt of lightening flashed from the top of them. He turned back around to look at the others, blinking rapidly several times.

"Okay, Ray you go ahead." He waved Ray forward as Hope followed, a smirk on her face as she passed Peter.

"Scaredy cat." She whispered as she walked on by, her smirk still on her lips.

"No, I'm being a gentleman." Peter responded as he walked behind Winston. Hope gave a small laugh and begun climbing the stairs. She stopped at the top, moving out of the way so the others could get up. Her eyes went wide when they landed on a figure in an orange dress.

"Oh my God! It's Dana!" Hope yelled out over the loud, roaring thunder from overhead. She stared out at Dana Barrett, who stood on top of a platform of stone with purple lightening hitting her in an even stream. Hope turned and looked to where the other stream was and spotted a man with glasses.

Peter pushed passed Hope and Ray to stare at Dana with a leveled gaze. Both sets of lightening came from the very top of the building, forming a triangle of sorts that sent shivers down Hope's spine.

"Dana!" Peter called out to her, hoping she would hear him. They all moved a little closer as a doorway began to open, "Dana! It's me!"

Dana fell to all fours and was suddenly transformed in a dog with horns just as the man was. She and the man gave out a harsh growl as the lightening disappeared and an ominous yellow glow emitted from the large doorway they had opened.

"Okay," Peter whispered as he looked over at Ray and Hope slowly. He gave a small shrug, "So, she's a dog."

"This is so much more than I asked for..." Hope commented on the situation as she stared back at Dana and the man. The two dogs gave another growl and jumped from their platform, rushing through the doorway. Ray and Peter were first to run and stand at the doorway, followed by Winston. Hope looked to Egon with a 'do we have to?' look plastered to her face.

"Come on." Egon ushered her forward until they stood beside the others, watching the scene that took place.

Before them was a pair of large steps leading to what seemed to be a pyramid with a large door. The two dogs took their place on either side of the stairs and looked back down at them. The second pair of doors at the top of the stairs slowly began to open and out stepped a woman. She had short black hair, sunken eyes, and lips in a tight line.

"Is that...?" Hope drawled off as she continued to stare at the woman before them.

"It's a girl." Ray commented, his own thoughts gone from himself.

"Never mess with a woman scorned." Hope turned to Ray with a look that was both fearful and surprised.

"It's Gozer." Egon called out to make sure each of them had heard him. Winston took one looked down at Egon and then back at the woman.

"I thought Gozer was a man?" He asked back, slightly confused as he looked over the woman again to make sure it wasn't a man after all.

"It's whatever it wants to be." Egon clarified, his eyes never leaving Gozer.

"Well, whatever it is it's gotta get by us!" Peter called out, trying to see if Gozer could hear them. His head turned to Ray, "Go get her Ray!"

Egon, Hope, Winston, and Ray turned their heads to Peter. Hope shook her head, her mouth slightly agape.

"You're not serious!" Hope scolded as she watched Ray take a step forward. Peter looked at her and gave a sarcastic smile.

"Oh, but I am...Hopie." He answered as each of them looked back at Ray. Hope scowled and ran forward, taking Ray's hand in her own.

"Hope get back." Ray stopped as he took his first step on the stairs.

"No, I already lost you once today. Not again Ray." Hope shook her head, squeezing his hand slightly. She followed closely as they moved up on the steps. They stopped when they felt they had gone far enough and were far enough away from Gozer.

"Gozer the Gozarian!?" Ray called out to the being up the steps. Hope squeezed Ray's hand again when she got a look at Gozer's blood red eyes, "Good evening. As a dueling active representative of the city of New York, I order you to cease any and all supernatural activity and return to your place of origin or the nearest convenient parallel dimension."

"That ought to do it! Thanks very much Ray." Peter's sarcasm annoyed Hope as she turned to stare back at him.

"Would you like to come up here!?" She yelled at him, her eyes narrowed.

_"Are you a God...?" _Hope's eyes grew wide as Gozer spoke out to them. She looked back up the stairs slowly at the woman with fear rising in her. She swallowed hard as her hand tightened in Ray's.

"...uh, no." Ray answered as Hope snapped her head to look at him. She wanted to slap her brother for answering like that.

"Then," Gozer began taking a long pause as she looked at them all while she raised her arms up, "DIE!"

Suddenly streams of the same purple lightening shot from her arms, hitting them all in the chest. The force sent them all flying to the edge of the building. Winston was lucky enough to get caught on the middle platform where Dana and the man had been. Ray, Egon, and Peter were all pushed to the left side of the middle platform, each trying to stay on the roof.

Hope caught the edge of the building as she was pushed to the right side of the middle platform and fought to stay on the roof. She looked behind her to see she was hanging over the edge, nothing keeping her there except for her own two hands. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to keep herself calm.

This was what she had been 'training' herself for. Well, maybe not something this high up and dangerous, but training none the less.

Her right hand slipped as a piece of the building crumbled beneath it. She gave an ear piercing scream as she tried desperately to climb back up. All composure she had was gone and was replaced with pure terror. Tears blurred her vision as her heart beat wildly in her chest and against her ribs.

"Somebody help me!" She screamed out again as she tried to pull herself up, but found she hadn't enough strength to do so. Her thoughts ran wild of what could happen if she didn't get herself up, "HELP ME!"

"Hope!" Egon was the first to get to her and grabbed a hold of her uniform, tugging on it to pull her up. Her feet slipped against the building's wall as she tried to propel herself up. Egon was soon able to reach far enough on her to wrap his arms beneath hers and pull her up onto the roof top. Hope wrapped her arms around him and let a few cries out into his shoulder as he gently rocked her back and forth, breathing into her ear.

"I've got you." Egon's voice soothed her some, but her heart still pound in her ears as she cried softly. She pulled back from him as he placed his hands on her cheeks, making her stare at him, "You're okay. You're safe."

Hope gave another small cry and closed her eyes, another tear falling because of her near death experience and her extreme fear; Altophobia. Footsteps followed the others as they ran over to Egon and Hope.

"When someone asks you if you're a God you say **YES**!" Winston scolded Ray while Hope just leaned against Egon's chest, his arms still wrapped around her tightly. Peter stood up from the ground and turned back to the doorway, determination on his face.

"Alright! This chick is **toast**!" Peter moved passed the others and stood at the doorway. Ray, Winston, Egon, and Hope followed soon after, each of them staring at Gozer, a hard expression on their faces.

All at the same time they pulled out their sticks from their proton packs and held them facing Gozer. They flicked on the switches, each of the packs making a low rumbling noise. Gozer crouched slightly like a cat, readying for the attack.

"Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do these things downtown!" Peter called out as he looked around at each of the others standing on his sides. They each nodded to him and suddenly he called out, "Now!"

Each of them let out a stream of red and yellow lights from their stick towards Gozer. Gozer quickly dodged by jumping into the air, flipping once, and landing on the middle platform behind them all. Their sticks shut off and they quickly spun to stare at her once more. They slowly took several steps towards Gozer.

"We have to go full strength!" Egon looked to them all as he flipped another switch on his pack. Hope followed suit as she swallowed a lump in her throat, worrying about how this would end.

"Aim for the flattop!" Ray called out as they all let another stream fly towards Gozer. Suddenly Gozer vanished and the streams died away.

"...where is she?" Hope asked anyone who was listening as she stared at the empty platform. Egon shook his head and walked forward with Winston, mouth slightly agape. Hope looked over at Ray and Peter, "Where did she go?"

"We got her." Ray concluded as he gave a small huff of a laugh and looked over at her.

"Wasn't so hard." Peter nodded his head to his own comment.

"We neutralized it. You know what that means?" Ray's voice held slight excitement in it as he looked away from Hope, "Complete particle reversal!"

"We had the **tools**! We had the_ talent_!" Winston laughed as he turned back to the guys. Egon stepped closer to the platform, examining it. Hope looked back at the open doorway and then back at the platform, something not feeling right.

"It's miller time!" Peter smiled and held out his hand for high fives. Hope looked back at the doorway again, her eyes examining it. Shouldn't the doorway have closed if they had destroyed her? A knot slowly formed in her stomach as a prickling sensation found its way to her hands and feet. Her eyebrows knitted together as she slowly shook her head, watching Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston at the platform.

"This isn't right..." She whispered to herself and then looked back at the boys, "Some thing's wrong!"

"What do you mean Hope? We beat her. It's over." Ray smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. Hope shook her head and looked back at the doorway.

"Ray...?" Hope's head snapped behind her and her eyes landed on Egon, "Hope's right."

"I am?" Hope's mouth dropped open, slightly in shock that her intuition was right this time.

"She is?" Peter asked also, not believing that her gut feeling was right. Egon nodded his head and looked between them all from studying a meter he held in his hands.

"It looks _extraordinarily _bad." He confirmed as his eyes slowly looked to the sky. Hope looked up with him, the others following suit.

Parts of the building began rumbling like earlier as bits and pieces of the stone crumbled. The dark clouds began swirling as thunder rumbled lowly behind them. Lightening flashed and the building began to tremble as thunder let loose.

"Look out!" Hope felt herself pulled downwards as Ray tugged her beneath the platform, trying to protect her from the things falling. Hope covered her head and made herself as small as she could, closing her eyes tightly while the building trembled beneath her.


	23. Chapter 23: He's A Sailor

I'm so sorry I haven't updated. I got my wisdom teeth pulled and the day I actually felt better and tried to post a new chapter my computer got a virus. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**{~Stay Puft~}**

The building stopped trembling and the harsh wind that had been blowing died down. Hope opened her eyes and looked at the damage while Ray stood up, holding out a hand to her. She took it and stood up, looking around at the others.

_"The traveler has come."_A voice surfaced from the sky, telling of Gozer the Destructor, _"Choose and perish."_

"Choose? Choose what!?" Hope yelled out looking towards the guys for an answer.

_"Choose the form of the Destructor."_ The voice came again. Hope looked to her left at Ray and then Egon beyond that before turning back to the open door.

"I get it! Very cute!" Peter gave a sarcastic laugh and looked over at Ray and Egon, "Whatever we think of. If we think of J. Edgar Hoover, Hoover will appear and destroy us."

"So we just...don't think of anything. Right?" Hope asked as she looked around at the guys, finding the idea a little foolish. Everyone fell silent as they all tried to not think of anything.

_"The choice is made."_ The voice came once more, causing everyone to fall into fear and confusion. Peter's head snapped back at the door, _"The traveler has come."_

_"_Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nobody chose anything!" He tried to tell the voice as he looked back at the others. He pointed at Egon, "Did you chose anything!?"

"No!" He answered back as Peter turned to Winston, asking the same question.

"No, my head was completely blank!" Winston answered like Egon. Peter looked between Ray and Hope, both sharing very different expressions.

"My mind was as empty as ever Pete." Hope gave as Peter then looked to Ray. He stopped, shook his head, and then looked back at Hope. Hope stared back at him for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks, causing her to scoff, "Oh ha-ha! Just because I think a lot doesn't mean this was my doing!"

She fell silent and Peter took the answer, returning to Ray. They all awaited to hear Ray's answer. Several seconds went by before Hope looked over at him.

"Ray...? Did you...?" She began, not wanting it to be true. Peter and the others moved in on Ray as he backed away slowly. He looked between them all, resembling a puppy that knew it had done something wrong.

"I couldn't help it." He began quietly, recoiling from them, "It just popped in there."

"What Ray? What did you do?" Peter scowled as he stepped closer than the others to him. Ray looked over at Hope, his eyes slightly worried before looking back at Peter.

"I-I tried to think-"

"LOOK!" Egon's voice caught every ones attention as muffled thumping floated through the air. Hope ran behind Ray to the edge of the building, looking for what was coming. She spotted something white as it passed behind buildings and when she figured out what it was she rounded on Ray.

"You didn't!" She scowled as she stared at Ray. She shook her head and spun back to watch again, "On no, you did! Ray!"

"What did you do Ray!? What did you do!?" Peter yelled again as everyone watched to see what the white blob was. Ray stared out like a zombie before nodding his head and answering calmly.

"Yep...It's the 'Stay Puft' marshmallow man..." He responded, his face falling as he thought back on his memories.

"Are you kidding me Ray!?! **Mr. Stay Puft**!?!" Hope screamed as she jumped from the ledge she was standing on to begin pacing. The marshmallow man walked around town, staring down at the people below like a larger then life snowman.

"Now that's something you don't see every day." Peter commented, trying to be a wise ass like always. Hope stopped her pacing and placed her hands on her hips as she looked back over at Mr. Stay Puft.

"I tried to think of something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never ever possibly destroy us...Mr. Stay Puft." Ray stared at the marshmallow man, his eyes glazed as though he were in a trance.

"Nice thinking Ray..." Peter spoke sarcastically as he looked at him. Hope walked over to them and stood in between Peter and Ray, watching Mr. Stay Puft. Egon and Winston walked closer, each of them about as transfixed as Ray was.

"Hope and I used to roast Stay Puft marshmallows up at lake Ochonda." Ray spoke quietly as his eyes continued to stay transfixed on the giant walking marshmallow. Peter stared at him blankly for a moment and then looked to Egon.

"Ray has gone bye-bye." Peter announced as Hope walked over to where Egon stood. She looked out over the city at the walking marshmallow man while Peter look to Egon, "What have you got left Egon?"

"Uh, sorry Peter. I'm terrified beyond rational thought." Egon answered as he gripped his proton pack tightly. Hope looked over at him and then at his hands. She swallowed the lump in her throat and pried one of his hands from the wand, cupping it in her own. She then moved it and held their hands to her chest as she laid her chin on top of them both, trying to comfort him and herself.

People screamed down below as they ran through the streets, trying to get away from Mr. Stay Puft as he walked through the streets. Mr. Stay Puft looked up at the Ghostbusters on the building, his face uncomfortably twisted with a sinister smile. He gave a loud and ragged yell as he outstretched his arms.

"Oh. My. God." Hope's voice was louder than she had meant for it to be and caused the guys eyes to befall onto her. Mr. Stay Puft walked forward, his feet landing and crushing a church below.

"Nobody steps on a church in my town!" Peter yelled out at Mr. Stay Puft. Hope let go of Egon's hand and switched on her proton pack again, holding her wand to face Mr. Stay Puft.

"1, 2, 3, roast him!" Ray called out as they all fired away at the giant marshmallow. Mr. Stay Puft gave a high screech as he took a step back and contorted his face. Minutes seemed to pass by as they kept firing at the marshmallow and soon he caught on fire, causing them to cease fire on him. Each of them stared at the marshmallow man as he leaned against the building.

Suddenly flames flew up the side of the building causing them all to jump back to avoid having their faces burned off. They ran to a corner and huddled; each of them scared and each of them unsure of what was going to happen next.

"It's funny. Us going out like this." Ray commented as he looked down at the ground, "Killed by a hundred foot marshmallow man."

"Funny? You think this is funny, Ray?" Hope scoffed and then sat down on the ground, "I'd much rather die in my sleep then be crushed by a giant marshmallow! Actually, I'd rather not die at all!"

The others knelt down to her level, staring around at each other. Hope took a deep breath closing her eyes and leaning her head back. Several thoughts whirled in her head, none of which that would help their situation. She opened her eyes and looked at her brother and then looked at Egon.

"What do we do?" She asked, feeling the knot in her stomach tighten even more, if that were possible.

"Well, we've been going about this all wrong. Mr. Stay Puft, he's okay. He's a sailor. He's in New York." Peter started as Hope shook her head, already knowing where he was going with the thought, "We get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble."

"Great Peter. Now all we have to do is find a giant marshmallow girl and we're in the clear." Hope snapped as she stared at him, "How hard could that be?"

"Well I don't see you coming up with any ideas." Peter snapped back as he stared right back at her, "You're useless and you complain too much."

"The door swings both ways Peter!" Hope snarled as she shook her head again, looking away. She looked to Egon, who stared down at her, a funny look in his eyes. Hope's scowl fell as she looked around confused by his glance, "What?"

"I've got an idea." Egon spoke quietly, his eyes never leaving Hope's. Eager to hear the thought he had, the others urged him on, "The doors **do** swing both ways."

"Yes, we've established that, Egghead." Peter spoke, his sarcasm coming back into his voice once again. Hope smacked him without having to turn around to face him.

"I know what Egon's talking about." She snapped at Peter and looked down at the ground, "He wants us to reverse the particle flow of the gate."

"See Venkman?" Egon gave a small smirk as he stared at his friend, "She's not useless."

"How do we do this Egon?" Peter glared at Egon, his temper rising as he spoke fiercely.

"...we'll cross the streams." Egon's voice was unsure as he looked around at the group. Hope arched an eyebrow at the idea because long ago she remembered him being the one to tell her that crossing the streams was **bad**.

"Excuse me Egon, but you said crossing the streams was bad." Peter laughed nervously at the idea that could kill them all, "You could _endanger _us. You could _endanger_ our client, the nice lady who paid us in advance before she became one of those dogs."

"Not exactly. There's definitely a very, very slim chance that we'll survive." Egon answered as he looked over at Hope, his eyes softening. Hope's focus was to the ground as she took in all that was being said. She licked her lips and nodded her head.

"We should try it." She spoke softly before looking up at the others. Her eyes landed on Egon as she nodded again, agreeing with his idea, "We have to at least try it."

They all fell silent as each of them looked at the others, trying to read their expressions. Hope looked from Peter to Ray to Winston and then back to Egon, a voice in her head saying that they needed to try Egon's idea.

The tingles returned to her hands and feet and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. This was the last place she ever expected herself to be. She had been to the Sahara, the African plains, the Amazon, and none of those ever frightened her as much as this did. Though during those adventures she never had so much to loose then she did now.

"I love this plan!" Peter spoke up finally, giving Ray a small slap on the cheek to bring him out of his thoughts. Peter looked over at Hope and Egon, "I'm excited to be a part of it! Let's do this!"

Peter stood up first and held a hand out to Hope with a grin. She smiled up at him and took it, getting to her feet like the others.


	24. Chapter 24: This Is Thee End

**{~Stay Puft~}**

The marshmallow man had begun to climb up the side of the building again, flames still burning on him while he screamed out in pain. The Ghostbusters quickly ran to the doorway and stood in front of it, holding their wands at ready.

None of them knew what was going to happen, but they all felt this was it. This was the end. This was their last stand.

Hope watched the doorway, her breathing steady, but fear seeping into her bones. All she could think about were her stupid rules and how they had played a part in her life. Slowly she began to recite them in her head.

_Rule number one: Tell the truth no matter how bad it hurts..._

The sky began to howl as lightening clashed in bright white bolts. A harsh wind picked up, throwing Hope's ponytail around in it. The boys fidgeted around her, but she took no notice to them while they readied their packs.

All she could hear was her breathing as it deepened; in and out, in and out, in and out. All other noise became silent as she was pulled into her own world, away from what was about to happen.

_Rule number two: You are beautiful the way you look, but only change if it is for yourself; never for anyone else..._

"We have to hurry!" Egon called out as they all lined up with him in a neat row. Hope stared at the doorway, her eyes slightly narrowed from the light it emitted. Peter stood beside her and flipped on his proton pack, the vibrating adding to the other noises around them. He turned to his left, looking at Ray with a smile.

"See you on the other side Ray!" His smile turned into a smirk and then he looked back at the opened doorway, letting a stream shoot from his wand.

_Rule number three: Always hug those you care about whenever you get the chance..._

Ray gave a small smile to Peter and looked at the doorway before him. He then looked down at Hope to his left, his eyes softening. His smile fell slowly as he watched her carefully, her face blank and her eyes glazed.

He knew she was scared. Hell, he was terrified. They had always seemed to be put into tough situations, but this one...this one he didn't see them returning from and he knew that Hope felt the same.

Ray kept his eyes on Hope, waiting for her to look at him. She felt his eyes on her and slowly looked to him, wanting him to tell her everything would be okay, that they would get through this. Her face saddened as she realized that he was about to say to her wasn't what she wanted. It was both better and much worse.

"I love you Hope!" Ray called out over the noise as he smiled softly at her, "I'm proud of you! I want you to know that! I've always been proud of you!"

Hope stood like a statue as he gave her a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. He slowly turned back to the doorway, staring into the light, ready to face whatever would happen.

_Rule four: When in doubt, search the honest one out..._

"It's been nice working with you all!" Ray turned on his own proton pack, letting a stream fly from his wand. Hope looked at Peter and Ray, her mind racing to try and play catch up. She then looked down at the ground and at her feet. Her eyes stung as tears began to form, blurring her vision.

Her breathing picked up as her heart raced in her chest. She looked back up at the two streams of yellow and red, her face blank and eyes glazing over once again as she was pulled into her thoughts once more.

_Rule five: Never leap unless someone is there to catch you..._

Hope's eyes watched as the two streams slowly began to move closer and closer to each other. Her eyes then moved down the line of boys at her right side. Her eyes fixed themselves on Egon, who stood with a stern expression while fear poured from his eyes.

He was afraid and worried, but most of all he was vulnerable. More so then Hope had ever seen him or thought he could be and that worried her even more.

Egon turned his head towards her and they locked eyes, a silent message passing between them. The light from the doorway poured onto him as the wind blew his hair. He gave a small smile and suddenly Hope began to cry as she felt the whole world crashing around her.

_Rule six: Never settle for second best..._

She had been through so many tough things in her life, but now seemed the worst of it all. She had been disowned by her father. She had watched her mother go through hell on Earth. She had been in love with a man that abused her and used her. She had even taken that leap and had fallen hard, but this was worse.

There were so many things she hadn't done, so many things that she wanted to do. She wanted to travel more, see more, but would never be able to. She wanted to learn an actual dance. She wanted to get married. She wanted kids, a family. She would never be able to now. This was it...

Hope closed her eyes tightly, feeling her heart ache. A tear rolled down her cheek as time seemed to slow until it stood still perfectly still.

_Rule seven: Don't judge a book by its cover because most times the title has nothing to do with what's on the pages..._

Hope opened her eyes and looked to her left at Winston Zeddemore. He was the smart and witty one, who was overall the greatest friend she had ever had. He made her laugh about everything even when she didn't want to. He was charming and was always smiling, which in turn was why Hope was always smiling.

Hope's eyes moved on to Peter Venkman, who she had started out despising. Peter was cheeky and careless, always sending a comment Hope's way. He was also a womanizer, but he was Peter. Smirking, laughing, sarcastic Peter. He was the most annoying and egotistical person she had ever met...but at the finish of it all she liked him.

_Rule nine: Don't take sides when blood is on both..._

Hope blinked as she turned her head to the right, her gaze falling upon Ray. Ray, her sweet, caring, and warm older brother. He was enthusiastic about everything he did and because of his childlike manner people looked down on him for years. He was accepting and open minded and generous and went above and beyond for others who needed help.

He was the heart of the Ghostbusters; its soul.

Ray had always been there for her. Ever since their father passed away he had been the one looking out for her. He had been the one watching over her, the one making sure she was always alright. He bent over backwards to make sure she was well off and always gave her the encouragement she needed. In the end...Ray, her older brother, was her hero.

_Rule eight: Everyone you meet is for a reason; understand why and grow from the experience..._

Hope's eyes moved passed Ray and landed on Egon. He was tall, thin, bespectacled, and had the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes Hope had ever seen in her life. They were the thing that drew her to him in the first place. He was also soft spoken and patient and actually genuinely cared about her.

He was blunt and straightforward, never seeing a reason why to sugarcoat things and she loved that. He was always so serious and was awkward when he was put into a social situation which made it easy for Hope's outgoing personality to coexist with him. He had a love for science that matched Ray's and was a complete genius. He collected spores, molds, and fungi for a hobby and had the biggest sweet tooth that Hope happily shared in.

_Rule ten: Always remind those you love that you love them and tell those who don't know that you do because you never know if it will be the last time you see them..._

He had been there...ever since she met him. Egon had been there to catch her. He had picked her up when she was down. He had been her shoulder to cry on. He had listened to her when she needed a friend the most. He had even protected her when no one else came to her aid. He had saved her time after time.

He could be so oblivious to the obvious though, but then see details that the others couldn't. He stiffened every time Hope had hugged him and became quiet every time she kissed him on the cheek. His blushing was the only sign that he wasn't upset with her and that encouraged her despite his discomfort.

_Rule eleven: Life is short, death is forever, live it up now and never say never..._

More tears fell from Hope's eyes and trailed down her cheeks where they fell from her chin. She looked away from Egon and back at the door, watching the two streams inch closer and closer as time seemed to begin to move once more.

She gave a small cry, her shoulders shaking as more and more cries followed. She had done exactly what she had promised herself she wouldn't do. She had fallen for Egon. All the butterflies, all the tingles and warm feelings...she loved him.

She knew that now, but it was too late. She had wasted too much time and this was the end for them all. They wouldn't be riding off into the sunset on a prized white stallion this time. This wasn't a fairytale and magic doesn't exist. They would never be together, never get married or have children. They would never even share a first kiss.

Hope looked up at the darkened sky as a bolt of lightening slowly streaked across it and thunder followed after it, confirming to her that this really was the end. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she gave a small sob, wishing that she could just rewind time. She would have done things so differently, taken so many more chances.

Slowly, as she closed her eyes and tears sprung from them again, a bright white light poured out from the doorway and all went quiet as though everything had frozen in its place...


	25. Chapter 25: I Love You

**{~Stay Puft~}**

Hope opened her eyes slowly to see white. That's all she could see; white. Everywhere. She was sticky too for some reason. She raised a hand to her face and wiped away the marshmallow, clearing most of it off.

She looked around where she was and found she was in a small corner, unsure of how she had gotten there. She stood up and walked from the corner, searching for any of the boys to tell her that this wasn't a dream or worse.

"Ray!?" She called out as she stepped over a piece of the building that had fallen. No response came and she tried holding back cries of her worries, "Raymond Francis Stantz! You answer me right now! Do you hear me!?"

"Hope! I'm alright! I'm okay." Ray answered back as he pulled himself out from underneath one of the platforms. Hope gave a small laugh as she noticed he was completely covered with marshmallow and for the fact that they had survived. Ray walked up to her grinning like a Cheshire cat and pulled her to him, giving her a big hug.

"Now we can be marshmallow siblings." Ray laughed as they pulled away from each other, Hope now having more white on her clothing. She smiled and nodded her head as a figure moved, catching her eye.

"Egon!?" She called out, but then noticed it was Winston who walked forward, also completely covered in marshmallow.

"You alright?" Ray asked Winston, who nodded, trying to throw the marshmallow from his arms. Ray looked down at Hope and then around for a moment, "Venkman!? Spengler!?"

No response came. Ray and Winston walked away to try and find the others as Hope walked the opposite direction, looking fervently for any signs of the two still missing.

"Egon!?" She called out on her own as she wandered back towards the stairs leading to Danna Barrett's apartment. A groan came from her left on the middle of the stairs. As she turned and looked down she spotted Peter on the ground. She rushed forward and knelt down beside him, "Are you okay Peter?"

"Oh, I'm great Princess. I'll never be able to eat marshmallows again, but great otherwise." He commented as he stood up and looked down at himself and the marshmallow bits. Hope didn't laugh. She looked behind her at Ray and Winston that walked up behind her.

They had found Peter by himself. That meant that there was only one more still missing; Egon, **her** Egon Spengler.

"Where is he?" Hope asked, looking from Ray to Winston. Ray shook his head, unsure of what to tell her. Hope looked back at Peter, her eyes speaking for her of her worries, "Where is he!?"

"I don't know, Princess." Peter shook his head. They all fell silent, each of them thinking the complete worst for their friend. Hope stood up from the ground and turned her back to them.

He was gone. Egon was gone. She had thought that the world ending was horrifying, but this was worse. The powers that be were forcing her to live a life without him; without Egon. Hope bit her bottom lip and placed her hands on her hips, looking around as tears found her eyes.

Suddenly she threw the proton pack from her back in anger and despair. She gave a straggled breath and sniffed, trying to hold back her tears.

"Hey! Come look at this!" Hope spun around to stare at her brother, thinking that she was hearing things. Ray stared back at her, both thinking they were hearing ghosts, "Ray! Venkman! Come look at this!"

The three boys took the lead following where the voice had come from. Hope trailed behind and then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. Egon turned from staring at one of the dogs that had become stone again and looked at them, marshmallow covering him from head to foot.

"Go get him." Ray whispered to Hope as she watched Egon carefully.

"You guys, come look at this." Egon urged as he waved them over, turning to look back at the dog. Hope didn't need a second invitation and ran forward, knocking him to the ground. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist as she hugged him tightly, tears falling from her eyes freely. Egon sat stiffly for a minute and then wrapped his own arms around her, pulling her flush against him once he realized what was going on, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...I'm alright..." Hope choked out through her silent cries. Egon laughed whole heartily and gently squeezed her, enjoying the feeling of holding her, "Are you alright?"

"I feel like the floor of a taxi cab." Egon spoke through a smile and leaned his forehead against hers. Hope gave a small laugh and closed her eyes, sniffing her tears back. She opened her eyes to Egon's closed, an idea in her head.

Hope moved her arms to wrap around his neck, her fingers grasping his hair lightly. His eyes opened and he stared back at her, both of them knowing what the other was thinking.

Hope felt the butterflies flap around in her belly and her hands began to tingle as she slowly inched forward. Egon watched her as her eyes closed halfway. He swallowed hard as he felt her warm breath against his lips, teasing him, encouraging him to make a move.

He felt his eyes flutter close as his breathing became unsteady. He moved forward carefully, unsure of what to do. Hope waited patiently, feeling his breath on her face as she listened to the sound of her heart pounding in her chest.

Their lips met in a gentle kiss as the butterflies and tingles suddenly disappeared from Hope. She felt his hold on her tighten as they lost themselves in the kiss.

"Hope," Egon began as they moved away, "before I wanted to tell you-"

Hope shook her head and pulled him back to her, kissing him again. She knew what he had wanted to tell her. It had been the same thing she wanted to tell him. He loved her and she knew that. She took a quick breath and kissed him again, her eyes watering as she scolded herself for being so emotional inside her head.

"Ahem. You had something you wanted to show us?" Peter asked, his sarcasm coming back in full. Egon and Hope pulled apart slightly and stared at the other three. Ray and Winston smiled at the two as Peter smirked, "Or was you two spilling your guts for each other it?"

Hope laughed and looked at Egon, not bothering to try and hold back. Egon shook his head and looked back at the others. They slowly stood up from the ground as Egon motioned to the petrified dogs back on their platforms. Ray moved forward and looked over the one closest to them.

"Smells like barbecued dog hair." Ray commented as he rubbed his nose and scrunched his face at the smell that floated in the air. He looked back at the others and his face fell slightly, "Oh Peter...I'm sorry. I didn't...I'm sorry."

Peter stared at Ray a moment with a blank expression and then turned away, actually hurt by the comment. Hope watched him quietly, feeling sorry for him since she knew that he had really cared for the woman. She looked up at Egon, who stood beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist. She laid her head against him and sighed, closing her eyes.

Hope opened her eyes slowly and looked back at the crumbling statue that used to be the dog Dana had turned into. Pieces of the statue broke off and fell to the marshmallow ground of the apartment buildings roof. She narrowed her eyes at something that seemed to move unlike the rest of the crumbling pieces and then lifted her head from Egon's shoulder.

"Hey look." She spoke up while the guys looked to where she was staring. They all watched as a hand suddenly appeared in place of the statue's paw, "Look! She's alive!"

A small moan surfaced from inside of the statue and suddenly Peter rushed forward, trying to break up the rest of it to free Dana. Ray and Winston helped, clawing and pounding on the statue. Chunks came off, falling to the ground freely as Dana fell backwards from it and straight into Peter's arms.

"Somebody turn on the lights!" A yell filled the air as Hope looked behind her and Egon at the man, who had been turned into the other dog. She pulled herself from Egon and moved to the man bumbling around with the top of the dog statue on his head.

"Hold still." Hope commanded as she began trying to lift the statue head off of him. Egon walked up beside her and together they released the man from the last of his cocoon, "Are you alright?"

The little man looked at her a moment, wobbling from left to right and then looked around the rooftop.

"The superintendent's gonna be pissed." He commented as Egon helped him step down off the pile of rubble he was on. Hope gave a small laugh and looked to Ray who had just walked over with Winston, "Who're you guys?"

"We're the Ghostbusters." Ray stated with a smile, proud to announce who they all were. The man looked at Ray and then studied them all for a moment.

"Who does your taxes?" He asked, his eyes landing back on Ray. Hope gave another small laugh and moved to Egon's side. She looked him over and noticed the amount of marshmallow that was still stuck to him.

She raised a hand and wiped some of the white fluff from his face and then tried to take some out of his hair, trying to suppress the laugh that was in her throat. Egon watched her carefully, noticing the grin that was beginning to form on her lips.

"You look like you ran through a car wash." She gave a laugh, her hand stopping on his cheek and cupping it gently as she stared at him.

"You know Mister Tully, you are a most fortunate individual." Ray's voice brought Hope and Egon back from their world. Hope looked at Ray as he and Winston were beginning to lead this 'Louis Tully' to the stairs. Hope looked back at Egon and wrapped an arm around his waist, smiling brightly. Egon's arm wrapped around her shoulders, leading her behind Ray and Winston.

"I know." Louis answered back to Ray as they approached the stairs.

"You have been a participant in the biggest inter-dimensional cross-rip since the Tunguska blast of 1909." Ray's lips curled into a sly smile as he looked to his right at Louis.

"Oh great." Louis commented though Hope could hear in his voice that he had no idea what Ray was talking about.

"I'd like to get a sample of your brain tissue." Egon spoke up from beside Hope. She looked up at him, her face contorting to say 'are you kidding me?' while Louis gave a small 'okay' in reply. Egon gave Hope a small look and then turned back to the stairs, allowing her to go first.

"Brain tissue...Can we not just enjoy the fact that we just kicked marshmallow ass and lived from a deadly particle reversion without trying to analyze it all yet? Or is that really all you can think about right now? Experiments?" Hope asked more to herself then to anyone else. She hit the last step of the stairs and crossed her arms over her chest while she watched Egon descend the stairs. He followed her into what used to be Dana's living room and then out into the hallway.

"There are a few experiments I'd like to do on you too." Egon replied from behind Hope as she slowly walked down the stairwell they had all climbed up earlier. Hope rolled her eyes and shook her head, "We'll need to use your apartment for them though."

"Did you just...?" She faltered as she stopped mid step on the stairs and thought about what he had just said. Egon walked passed her on the steps and looked back at her, a sly smirk playing on his lips, "Egon!"

Hope gave a laugh and followed after him, surprised and also enjoying the playfulness he was showing her. She walked beside him through the main entrance to the apartment building, holding his hand in hers.

They stepped outside and were greeted with their ever faithful fans, cheering and shouting for them. Peter and Dana shared a passionate kiss, pleasing the crowd of cheering Ghostbuster fans. They then walked down the last of the steps and hopped into the car.

Hope and Egon stood by the front doors of the apartment building, watching everyone and everything that was happening around them. Hope spotted Ray a few steps down and walked up beside him. He reached into his uniform and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up as though it had been years since his last one. Hope stared at him with an eyebrow arched, causing him to stop and pull the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Give me a break Hopie." He begged as he stared at her with the puppy dog face. Hope shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fresh out of breaks Ray." She laughed and pulled the cancer stick from him, throwing it to the ground. Ray gave a small scoff, nudging her as he waved to the fans before walking down to the car.

"Egon!" Hope turned and watched Janine run up the steps to where she had left Egon standing with Winston. She watched as Janine flung her arms around Egon and pull him to her in a tight hug. Egon returned the hug, causing Hope to avert her eyes, jealousy rising in her. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and looked to her right, smiling up at Winston.

"Scientists right?" Winston asked sarcastically, trying to keep Hope from going after Janine. Hope nodded her head and wrapped her arm around his waist, each giving the other a side hug. She took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

"No, Egon." She laughed lightly as they began walking down the steps together. She felt a pull on her other arm and stopped to look back at her captor. Egon stood behind her smiling down at her. Winston let her go and walked over to the car where he and Ray stood staring at the two.

"What? Janine's not good enough?" Hope smirked at him as she watched Janine from the corner of her eyes. Egon stepped down onto the step she stood on, removing his gloves in the process. He threw his gloves to the ground and took her hands in his own, rubbing his thumbs over the smooth yet sticky peach flesh.

"I've got something better." Egon smiled and stared down at her. Hope's cheeks flushed and she gave a small laugh, squeezing his hands gently in her own. She looked back up at him and bit her bottom lip, taking one of her hands and resting it against his cheek.

"This is where the Knight kisses the Princess, Egghead!" Peter stuck his head out the passenger window and tapped the hood of the car twice. Hope turned back to look at Egon from the car and smiled.

"Yeah, that's how fairy tales usually end." She joked as she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Kiss me Egghead."

Egon gave a small laugh and wrapped his arms around her waist. Hope let her fingers settle in his hair as he lowered his lips upon hers in a chaste kiss. The cheering from the fans grew louder, causing the two to break apart, Hope laughing without control. She leaned her forehead against Egon's, her giggles quieting as she kept her eyes closed and relished the feel of Egon holding her.

"Shall we?" Egon inquired as he lifted up a hand for her to take. Hope looked over at it and bit her lip, placing her own in his.

"We shall." She replied as they walked down the steps hand in hand, fingers laced. Egon helped Hope into the back seat of the car and then settled himself beside her. Hope smiled softly and leaned her head against Egon's shoulder, exhaustion creeping up on her. Egon lifted his arm, wrapped it around her, and laid his head against hers. Hope pulled his other hand onto his lap and entwined their hands together, sighing contently.

"So," Hope and Egon opened their weary eyes and looked across the back to where Peter and Dana sat in a similar position as them. Peter looked down at Dana and then back to the two, "How about a double date?"

Hope laughed and looked up at Egon, her eyes telling him her answer. Egon smiled and looked over at Peter, feeling the same as Hope.

"We'd rather have our dates alone." He answered and kissed Hope on her forehead.

"Smart answer. Cause otherwise Hope would have killed you." Peter pointed at Hope and then leaned his head back, closing his eyes, "Or I would have."

Hope shook her head and sighed, closing her own eyes once more and yawned. Egon laid his chin on the top of her head and closed his also, feeling exhausted. The car pulled away from the apartment building, heading back to the Ghostbuster building and home.

They had done it. They had saved the city, proved themselves, and for some had found love. Hope rearranged herself, taking her hand from Egon's and wrapping it around his waist, holding him tightly to her.

To her all that mattered was him and him alone. He was Egon Spengler; her socially awkward, straightforward, and always serious scientist that collected molds, spores, and fungi for a hobby and had the largest sweet tooth she had ever known. She would now get her chance to take that once fearful leap that was now welcoming to her, knowing that he would always be there to catch her when she fell.

"Hope..." Egon whispered softly into her hair, earning Hope's attention. She mumbled back a reply, feeling herself drift away slowly. Egon's words were soft, but they brought a bright smile to her face when he whispered them in her ear, "I love you."

The End

* * *

This story came out better this time. Hope you all enjoyed. Thank you!

- Winter


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